Impact of continuous kangaroo mother care Initiated immediately after birth (ikmc) Versus conventional care on newborns with Birth weight between 1.0 to 1.5kg – a one year Randomized control study at kle’s drPrabhakar kore hospital & mrc, belagavi

Abstract

BACKGORUND AND OBJECTIVES: Preterm birth, low birth weight, infections and birth complications including birth asphyxia or trauma are the leading causes of neonatal deaths in India. The most effective and evidence-based intervention which is feasible even in a low resource setting is known to be Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). KMC is known for stabilization of body temperature, improvement of breastfeeding rate, and reducing mortality and chances of sepsis among neonates. However, KMC is ideally recommended to be started after stabilization of the neonate. We intended to study the effect of immediate KMC (iKMC) initiation before the stabilization of the VLBW babies compared with KMC initiated after stabilization of these newborns. Also, we intended to study the effects of iKMC on neonatal mortality, prevention of hypothermia, sepsis, hypoglycemia, RDS and early stabilization of neonates.