faculty

Publications

Kangaroo Mother Care: More than just warmth.

Groups and Associations Avita Rose Johnson
Health Action - Catholic Hospitals Association of India 2021

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is the early, continuous and prolonged skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby, along with exclusive breastfeeding. It was first presented by Rey and Martinez in Bogotá, Colombia, as an alternative to incubator care for low-birth-weight (LBW) newborns in resource-poor settings. This intervention has subsequently proved tobe immensely beneficial to all newborns, irrespective of prematurity, birth weight and socio-economic status.Many hospitals have now implemented skin-to-skin contact immediately following birth for full-term newborns as well. This article provides details of what is Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), how is it performed, what are the benefits of KMC, what are the barriers to KMC and the Public Health Importance of KMC.