Kangaroo Mother Care--a review

Parents' and neonatal healthcare professionals' views on barriers and facilitators to parental presence in the neonatal unit: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Parent and infant separation in the neonatal unit is associated with adverse health outcomes. Family-integrated care has several advantages and the potential to reduce these adverse outcomes but requires parental presence. This study aimed to explore the views of parents and neonatal healthcare professionals (nHCPs) on barriers and facilitators to parental presence in a Swiss neonatal unit and to identify possible differences between nHCPs and parents, and between mothers and fathers.

METHODS

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with parents and focus group discussions with nHCPs. Inductive content analysis was used to identify barriers and facilitators to parental presence in the neonatal unit.

RESULTS

Twenty parents (10 mothers and 10 fathers) and 21 nHCPs (10 nurses and 11 physicians) participated in the study. Parents and nHCPs experienced barriers and facilitators related to: (1) Structural factors of the institution, such as infrastructure or travel and distance to the neonatal unit. (2) Organization and time management of parental presence, daily activities, and work. (3) Resources, which include factors related to the legal situation, support services, family, and friends. (4) Physical and psychological aspects, such as pain, which mainly affected mothers, and aspects of emotional distress, which affected both parents. Self-care was an important physical and psychological facilitator. (5) Parent-professional interaction. Parental presence was influenced by communication, relationship, and interaction in infant care; and (6) Cultural aspects and language. Some perspectives differed between mothers and fathers, while the overall views of parents and nHCPs provided complementary rather than conflicting insights. Using visit plans to support the organization, educating nHCPs in knowledge skills and available resources to improve encouragement and information to parents, strengthening parent self-care, and improving nHCPs' attitudes towards parental presence were seen as possible improvements.

CONCLUSIONS

Multifactorial barriers and facilitators determine parental presence and experience in the neonatal unit. Parents and nHCPs made specific recommendations to improve parental presence.

A nutty idea: Exploring a novel method using a hazelnut cocoa spread to temporarily increase maternal care behavior within a rat litter

Maternal care plays a crucial role for infant development. In humans, skin-to-skin care is often used for preterm infants to reduce acute stress and improve long-term developmental outcome. Here we propose a new translational approach to study the effects of acute increases in maternal care on offspring development in rodents. First, pilot studies determined that dams spent more time licking pups covered in hazelnut cocoa spread (Nutella^® )) than any other studied substance. For the main experiment, Sprague-Dawley rats were bred in-house, and Nutella^® was applied four times a day to treatment pups (2 males/females per litter) of seven litters from PN2 to 5. Control pups (2 males/females per litter) were handled similarly without applying any substance. Maternal licking and grooming behavior was observed for 30 min following each Nutella^® application. Nutella^® -covered pups received significantly more licking and grooming compared to control pups within each litter. There was no difference in body weight or basal serum corticosterone levels between Nutella^® -covered and control pups on PN5, suggesting that the Nutella^® application and subsequent increased maternal licking was not stressful for the pups. Future studies will investigate whether this increase in maternal care can protect pups from stress- or pain-induced rises in corticosterone.

Compliance to kangaroo mother care best practice: an evidence-based implementation project

BACKGROUND

Worldwide about 13 million babies are born prematurely every year. Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a proven, acceptable and feasible method to decrease the mortality rate of premature infants. Reviewing current KMC practices, implementing in the context and auditing the compliance would benefit the promotion evidence-based practice (EBP), which was not well known in the study area.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the study was to increase awareness of EBP for KMC in the neonatal care unit of a public hospital through identifying local barriers and facilitators, and to measure compliance with best practice recommendations.

METHODS

The current KMC best practice quality improvement project was conducted between March and May 2018. The project team was established for this implementation project. Six KMC best practice audit criteria were used to evaluate the compliance at baseline and endline using the Joanna Briggs Institute Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice audit and feedback tool. All (20) clinical staff who were working in the neonatal care unit were included in the study. Based on the baseline audit result, gaps and barriers were identified and discussed, and implementation strategies specific to the local setting were developed to mitigate the gaps. Baseline results were compared with the final follow-up audit result to measure change in compliance. Again, these data were compared with other studies to identify the sustainability of the project in a clinical setting.

RESULTS

A total of 80 cases (baseline 20 and implementation 60) were observed demonstrating KMC procedures. Study found that follow-up compliance rates for all criteria improved compared with baseline audit; for example, criterion 5 (assessment of infant's condition) improved from 20% during baseline to 90% during follow-up and criterion 3 (parent/family received counselling) improved from 30 to 95%.

CONCLUSION

The current study demonstrated that EBP training and frequent supportive supervision translated in improved compliance to best available evidence to KMC in a resource-limited setting.

Caregiving can be costly: A qualitative study of barriers and facilitators to conducting kangaroo mother care in a US tertiary hospital neonatal intensive care unit

BACKGROUND

Preterm birth is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five and often requires a newborn to have an extended stay in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Maternal engagement, such as visiting the NICU to provide kangaroo mother care (KMC), can improve outcomes for preterm infants but requires significant investment of time and resources. This study sought to understand barriers and facilitators to provision of KMC in the NICU.

METHODS

We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with mothers of preterm infants (N = 20) at a large academic medical center in Massachusetts. A series of open-ended interview questions were designed to elicit all aspects of mothers' experiences and to understand how these experiences influence provision of KMC. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis to identify themes in the data with a focus on the barriers and facilitators of KMC provision in the NICU.

RESULTS

Findings show that engaging in KMC is heavily influenced by the mental, emotional, and physical effects of preterm birth on the birth mother, such as stress around preterm birth and difficulty recovering from birth. These challenges are compounded by structural barriers such as costly accommodations, unreliable transportation, lack of child care, and inadequate maternity leave policies that limit the frequency and duration of KMC and parental ability to provide care.

CONCLUSIONS

A complex array of mental, emotional, physical, and structural factors determine a mother's ability to visit the NICU and provide kangaroo mother care. Providing social supports, such as improved maternity leave policies and reliable hospital access through child care, accommodation, and transportation services, may address the structural barriers that inhibit KMC, reduce burdensome costs, and improve the health of mothers and their preterm infants.

Resilience priming: Translational models for understanding resiliency and adaptation to early life adversity

Despite the increasing attention to early life adversity and its long-term consequences on health, behavior, and the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, our understanding of the adaptations and interventions that promote resiliency and rescue against such insults are underexplored. Specifically, investigations of the perinatal period often focus on negative events/outcomes. In contrast, positive experiences (i.e. enrichment/parental care//healthy nutrition) favorably influence development of the nervous and endocrine systems. Moreover, some stressors result in adaptations and demonstrations of later-life resiliency. This review explores the underlying mechanisms of neuroplasticity that follow some of these early life experiences and translates them into ideas for interventions in pediatric settings. The emerging role of the gut microbiome in mediating stress susceptibility is also discussed. Since many negative outcomes of early experiences are known, it is time to identify mechanisms and mediators that promote resiliency against them. These range from enrichment, quality parental care, dietary interventions and those that target the gut microbiota.

Effects of Father-Neonate Skin-to-Skin Contact on Attachment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study examines how skin-to-skin contact between father and newborn affects the attachment relationship. A randomized controlled trial was conducted at a regional teaching hospital and a maternity clinic in northern Taiwan. The study recruited 83 first-time fathers aged 20 years or older. By block randomization, participants were allocated to an experimental (n = 41) or a control (n = 42) group. With the exception of skin-to-skin contact (SSC), participants from each group received the same standard care. Both groups also received an Early Childcare for Fathers nursing pamphlet. During the first three days postpartum, the intervention group members were provided a daily SSC intervention with their respective infants. Each intervention session lasted at least 15 minutes in length. The outcome measure was the Father-Child Attachment Scale (FCAS). After adjusting for demographic data, the changes to the mean FCAS were found to be significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group. We recommend that nurses and midwives use instructional leaflets and demonstrations during postpartum hospitalization, encouraging new fathers to take an active role in caring for their newborn in order to enhance father-neonate interactions and establish parental confidence. This trial is registered with clinical trial registration number NCT02886767.

Neonatal pain and reduced maternal care: Early-life stressors interacting to impact brain and behavioral development

Advances in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have drastically increased the survival chances of preterm infants. However, preterm infants are still exposed to a wide range of stressors during their stay in the NICU, which include painful procedures and reduced maternal contact. The activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, in response to these stressors during this critical period of brain development, has been associated with many acute and long-term adverse biobehavioral outcomes. Recent research has shown that Kangaroo care, a non-pharmacological analgesic based on increased skin-to-skin contact between the neonate and the mother, negates the adverse outcomes associated with neonatal pain and reduced maternal care, however the biological mechanism remains widely unknown. This review summarizes findings from both human and rodent literature investigating neonatal pain and reduced maternal care independently, primarily focusing on the role of the HPA axis and biobehavioral outcomes. The physiological and positive outcomes of Kangaroo care will also be discussed in terms of how dampening of the HPA axis response to neonatal pain and increased maternal care may account for positive outcomes associated with Kangaroo care.

Effects of kangaroo mother care on maternal mood and interaction patterns between parents and their preterm, low birth weight infants: a systematic review

The birth of a premature infant can have adverse effects on the mood of mothers and on the interaction patterns between parents and their preterm babies. The aim of the present systematic review was to examine whether the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) intervention can attenuate these adverse psychological effects of a premature birth by ameliorating negative maternal mood and/or promoting more positive interactions between preterm infants and their parents. The results showed that although findings of studies were inconclusive, there is some evidence to suggest that KMC can make a positive difference on these areas. Specifically, it was found that KMC can improve negative maternal mood (e.g., anxiety or depression) and promote more positive parent-child interactions. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

The economic benefits of increasing kangaroo skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding in neonatal units: analysis of a pragmatic intervention in clinical practice

BACKGROUND

A number of significant recent research studies have used techniques of economic modelling to demonstrate the potential benefits of increasing breastfeeding rates in the UK overall, and specifically in neonatal care. This paper complements this growing body of evidence by presenting an economic analysis of data from an actual intervention, the 'Getting It Right From the Start' programme, which took place in the north of the UK during 2011-12, with the aim of increasing breastfeeding and kangaroo skin-to-skin care rates in neonatal units.

METHODS

'Getting It Right from the Start' was a pragmatic, multifaceted programme of change delivered under the auspices of the regional Health Innovation and Education Cluster, of which 17 were established in the UK in 2010. It engaged with 18 neonatal units in two Neonatal Networks with the aim of increasing kangaroo skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding rates. As part of the evaluation of the programme, we conducted an economic study comparing the overall costs and benefits of the intervention.

RESULTS

Overall, the economic analysis demonstrated that for every £1 invested in the intervention to increase kangaroo skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding rates, between £4.00 and £13.82 of benefit was generated. This was spread across different healthcare settings and the timescale for the realisation of benefits will vary. The increases in kangaroo skin-to-skin care generated the greatest cost savings, with potential cost savings ranging between £668,000 (minimum cost assumptions) to more than £2 m (maximum cost assumptions). Increases in breastfeeding associated with the project generated between £68,486 and £582,432. The majority of the cost savings generated were associated with reductions in cases of gastroenteritis and necrotising enterocolitis.

CONCLUSION

This was one of the first economic evaluations of an actual intervention to increase breastfeeding and kangaroo skin-to-skin care in neonatal units. It complements the existing economic models by demonstrating that a real intervention in clinical practice was both cost effective as well as clinically beneficial. Future interventions with similar methodology should be supported and considered likely to generate significant cost savings compared to outlay. Economic evaluation should be more frequently included in studies of practical interventions in clinical settings to increase breastfeeding.

The Effects of Kangaroo Care on Maternal Self-esteem and Premature Infants' Physiological Stability

PURPOSE

This paper identified the effects of kangaroo care (KC) on maternal self-esteem and the growth and physiological stability of premature infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit.

METHODS

The experiment was conducted with an experimental group of 17 infants, and a control group of 17 infants selected by convenience sampling. KC was given to the infants one time a day for 30 minutes after feeding for two weeks. Their weight was measured every morning, and their physiological stability was measured in terms of their body temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and stability of the cardio-respiratory system in premature infants (SCRIP) score, as physiological responses at every 10 minutes during the intervention. Maternal self-esteem was assessed by a maternal self-report inventory.

RESULTS

The experimental group showed significant increase in the self-esteem of mothers. Also, KC was effective on physiological stabilization of preterm infants.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that KC can be provided in clinical settings more widely in Korea as one of the nursing interventions aimed at promoting maternal self-esteem as well as infants' physiological stabilization.

The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) with Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC): Comprehensive Care for Preterm Infants

State-of-the-art Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs), instrumental in the survival of high-risk and ever-earlier-born preterm infants, often have costly human repercussions. The developmental sequelae of newborn intensive care are largely misunderstood. Developed countries eager to export their technologies must also transfer the knowledge-base that encompasses all high-risk and preterm infants' personhood as well as the neuro-essential importance of their parents. Without such understanding, the best medical care, while assuring survival jeopardizes infants' long-term potential and deprives parents of their critical role. Exchanging the womb for the NICU environment at a time of rapid brain growth compromises preterm infants' early development, which results in long-term physical and mental health problems and developmental disabilities. The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) aims to prevent the iatrogenic sequelae of intensive care and to maintain the intimate connection between parent and infant, one expression of which is Kangaroo Mother Care. NIDCAP embeds the infant in the natural parent niche, avoids over-stimulation, stress, pain, and isolation while it supports self-regulation, competence, and goal orientation. Research demonstrates that NIDCAP improves brain development, functional competence, health, and life quality. It is cost effective, humane, and ethical, and promises to become the standard for all NICU care.

Cuidado mãe canguru em recém-nascidos pré-termo sob suporte ventilatório: avaliação dos estados comportamentais

OBJETIVOS: descrever os estados comportamentais dos recém-nascidos com peso inferior a 1500 g, em ventilação mecânica, antes, durante e após o cuidado mãe canguru (CMC). MÉTODOS: estudo do tipo quase experimental em que os estados comportamentais definidos como sono profundo, ativo, sonolência, alerta inativo, alerta ativo e choro de acordo com a Escala Neonatal de Brazelton foram avaliados em três momentos: 15 minutos antes do CMC, 30 minutos após o início da exposição e 15 minutos após o CMC num total de uma hora de exposição. Quarenta e quatro recém-nascidos pré-termo (poder estatístico >0,9), com idade gestacional média de 29 semanas e peso médio de 1096 g, intubados e estáveis do ponto de vista hemo-dinâmico, foram selecionados por amostra de entrada contínua. RESULTADOS: evidenciou-se o favorecimento do sono, principalmente o sono profundo (52,3%), comparado aos períodos antes (6,8%) e após (13,6%) (p<0,001) o CMC. Além disso, os recém-nascidos apresentaram sinais de dor após o CMC com diferença significativa (p=0,002). CONCLUSÕES: o cuidado mãe canguru, nas condições deste estudo, pode ser considerado como uma estratégia favorecedora para o desenvolvimento neurocomportamental.

Effect of kangaroo mother care on postpartum depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious public health issue. Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is widely considered to be the most feasible, readily available and preferred intervention for decreasing neonatal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. We conducted a prospective study to assess the effect of KMC on PPD. The study population included 177 low-income mothers with their preterm infants. We used the validated Portuguese version of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale for the assessment of maternal depression. The mothers were evaluated twice, at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission and at KMC discharge. We found 66 mothers (37.3%) with depression and it decreased to 30 (16.9%) after KMC intervention; p < 0.0001. None developed PPD during the Kangaroo stay. We concluded that KMC may lessen maternal depression. Further studies, may be required to clarify these preliminary findings.