Predictors and Outcomes of Kangaroo Mother Care: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Pakistan

Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Pakistan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Preterm Infants; Low Birth Weight Infants

Treatments: Behavioral: Kangroo mother care

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06559020

IRB/2023/1099/SIMS

Details and patient eligibility

About

This quasi-experimental study evaluated the impact of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) versus Conventional Care (CC) on the growth, developmental milestones, breastfeeding, vaccination, and mortality of low birth weight infants in Services Hospital Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 400 infants were enrolled and followed for one year.

Full description

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), Lahore, Pakistan, to compare the impact of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) versus Conventional Care (CC) on low birth weight infants. A total of 400 infants (200 in each group) born between January 2020 and December 2022 were included in the study, with participants selected based on specific inclusion criteria and informed consent obtained. KMC involved continuous skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant during the hospital stay and continued at home for at least 8 hours daily. The follow-up schedule included appointments at six weeks after birth, monthly visits until six months of age, and quarterly visits until the infants reached one year of age. During these visits, the study collected data on infant growth, developmental milestones, breastfeeding practices, and vaccination status. The study was ethically approved by the research ethics committee, and data collection was conducted during scheduled follow-up visits to the outpatient department.

Enrollment: 400 patients

Sex: Female

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• women who were able to follow the program instructions,
• permanent residents of Lahore and its periphery and willing to be part of program for the one-year time period,
• live newborn babies delivered either vaginally or through caesarean section with birth weight of 1.5 to 2 kg,
• gestational age between 28 to 36 weeks.

Exclusion criteria

• an infant or mother diagnosed with a life-threatening ailment, major disease, or major malformations,
• early-detected major conditions arising from perinatal problems, such as severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, pulmonary hypertension,
• incidence of severe infection measured as nosocomial infections requiring systemic antibiotics or infections, severe respiratory distress, and hypothermia episodes (temperature less than 35C).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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400 participants in 2 patient groups

kangroo mother care

Experimental group

Description:

he KMC group will receive continuous skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant for 24 hours a day, with support and training in kangaroo positioning and exclusive breastfeeding.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Kangroo mother care

conventional care

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group will receive conventional neonatal care, which includes placing newborns in open cots with appropriate heating or cooling based on weather conditions. Mothers will receive guidance on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and support to initiate breastfeeding, but will not have the structured kangaroo mother care provided to the experimental group.