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Hospitals across the continent are adopting Kangaroo Mother Care to help curb high mortality rates for preterm infants. The technique emphasizes skin-to-skin contact between ... Read more »
Kangaroo Care Nurtures Infant Survival, January 2013
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Photo 1 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaKenyatta National Hospital (KNH) introduced Kangaroo Mother Care in 2000 to combat surging newborn mortality rates, particularly those for preterm babies. The risk of infant death due to preterm birth complications is at least 12 times higher for an African baby than for a European baby, according to Born to Soon, a global action report on preterm birth. More than three-quarters of premature babies could be saved with actionable, cost-effective care, the report concludes. -
Photo 2 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaThe Kangaroo Care technique calls for nestling a newborn against the mother's abdomen and then swaddling the pair together with traditional clothing or a special blanket - the key being skin-to-skin contact. Preterm babies don't have enough fat to keep their bodies warm. With Kangaroo Care mothers can help heat their babies. -
Photo 3 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaPreterm infants are babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy. Nearly half of the 1.1 million babies who die each year from preterm birth complications could be saved using the Kangaroo Mother Care technique, according to a global action report. -
Photo 4 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaTabitha Wanjiku, 19, participates in the Kangaroo Mother Care program at KNH. She stays near the hospital and drops in at three-hour intervals to warm and nurse her infant. -
Photo 5 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaMothers can expect to pay an extra 800 shillings (U.S.$9.32) daily for an incubator at KNH. That is too much for many families in a country where the average annual income for 2011 was under U.S.$800. Even if parents have the funds, the hospital's handful of incubators are often full. -
Photo 6 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaMultiple studies have concluded that Kangaroo Care is as safe and effective as an incubator. Kangaroo Care has also been shown to improve breastfeeding, boost brain development, cut infection rates and strengthen the mother-child bond. -
Photo 7 of 7Credit: Lauren Everitt/AllAfricaKNH nursing officer Evelyn Ndiga is confident that rolling out Kangaroo Care across the country would improve the lives of infants and rural mothers, many of whom lack access to incubators. "We don't require much to do it, and its quite cheap to implement," she says.
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