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Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low-birth-weight infants

Intervention | Last updated: 18 May 2023

Every year, more than 20 million infants are born weighing less than 2.5kg – over 96% of them in developing countries. These low-birth-weight (LBW) infants are at increased risk of early growth retardation, infectious disease, developmental delay and death during infancy and childhood.

Conventional neonatal care of LBW infants is expensive and needs both highly skilled personnel and permanent logistic support. Evidence suggests that kangaroo mother care is a safe and effective alternative to conventional neonatal care, especially in under-resourced settings and may reduce morbidity and mortality in LBW infants as well as increase breastfeeding. Kangaroo mother care involves:

  • early, continuous and prolonged skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her newborn
  • frequent and exclusive breastfeeding
  • early discharge from hospital.

WHO Recommendations

Kangaroo mother care is recommended for the routine care of newborns weighing 2000 g or less at birth, and should be initiated in health-care facilities as soon as the newborns are clinically stable.

Newborns weighing 2000 g or less at birth should be provided as close to continuous Kangaroo mother care as possible.

Intermittent Kangaroo mother care, rather than conventional care, is recommended for newborns weighing 2000 g or less at birth, if continuous Kangaroo mother care is not possible.



Evidence

Systematic reviews used to develop the guidelines

Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low birthweight infants

Conde-Agudelo A, Belizán JM, Diaz-Rossello J. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2011; Issue 3. Art. No.: CD002771.

Related Cochrane reviews

Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low birthweight infants.

Conde-Agudelo A, Díaz-Rossello JL.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD002771.

Summary of this review Alternate Text

Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants

Moore ER, Bergman N, Anderson GC, Medley N.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD003519.

Summary of this review Alternate Text

Other related systematic reviews

Kangaroo Mother Care and Neonatal Outcomes: A Meta-analysis

Boundy EO, Dastjerdi R, Spiegelman D, Fawzi WW, Missmer SA, Lieberman E, et al. Pediatrics. 2016; 137(1):1-16.

Maternal satisfaction and clinical effect of kangaroo mother care in preterm infants: a meta‐analysis

Yu ZB, Han SP, Xu YQ, Weng L. Chinese Journal of Evidence‐Based Medicine. 2008; 8(4):277–283.

'Kangaroo mother care' to prevent neonatal deaths due to preterm birth complications

Lawn JE, Mwansa-Kambafwile J, Horta BL, Barros FC, Cousens S. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2010; 39(Suppl. 1):i144–i154.

Cost-effectiveness Learn More Alternate Text

Cost-effectiveness analyses

Kangaroo mother care for low birthweight infants: a randomized controlled trial in different settings

Cattaneo A, Davanzo R, Worku B, Surjono A, Echeverria M, Bedri A, et al. Acta Paediatr. 1998; 87(9):976-85.

The cost-savings of implementing kangaroo mother care in Nicaragua

Broughton EI, Gomez I, Sanchez N, Vindell C. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2013; 34(3):176-82.

Latin American Clinical Epidemiology Network Series - Paper 4: Economic evaluation of Kangaroo Mother Care: cost utility analysis of results from a randomized controlled trial conducted in Bogotá

Ruiz JG, Charpak N, Castillo M, Bernal A, Ríos J, Trujillo T, Córdoba MA. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017; 86:91-100.

Category 1 Intervention

Guidelines have been recently approved by the WHO Guidelines Review Committee

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