Effects of The Kangaroo Care Program on Materal Milk Supply and The Body Weight of Preterm Infant

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to examine the effects of the kangaroo care program on maternal milk supply and the body weight of preterm infants. The sample consisted of 30 primigravida mothers and preterm babies who were admitted into the Sick Newborn Unit at Chonburi Hospital. Of the participants, 15 infants in the experimental group  received the kangaroo care program from their mothers for 45 minutes  before they were feed at 13.30 p.m. every day for 5 days. The other 15 infants were placed in the control group and received routine care. The research instruments included the kangaroo care program, a demographic questionnaire, and the recorded maternal milk supply data. The data were analyzed  using descriptive statistics and the t-test.

The results revealed that, the mean value of the maternal milk supply in the experimental group were significantly higher at the end of the experiment than those in the control group (t = 2.99, p < 0.001). The mean value of the preterm infants body weight in the experimental group were significantly higher at the end of the experiment than those in the control group (t = 2.77, p < .001).

These findings indicated that the use of the kangaroo care program may increase maternal milk supply and the body weight of preterm infants. Therefore, nurses and health care personnel should use the kangaroo care program with mothers who have preterm babies in the Newborn Unit.