A Retrospective, Comparative Study Using the Kangaroo Method as a Complement to the Standard Incubator Care

Abstract

A retrospective, comparative study was conducted on 66 premature infants, 33 in a Kangaroo-group and 33 in a Standard Premature Care-group. Both groups were matched for maternal age, parity, pregnancy length, type of delivery, gestational age, birth weight and technological intervention (prior to first contact with mother outside the incubator). The study period for the Kangaroo-care group was November 1985 - May 1987 and for the Standard Premature Care group May 1984-November 1985, a year and a half before the Kangaroo-Method was introduced in the nursery. T-test and chi-square analyses indicated significant advantages in Kangaroo-care. The Kangaroo group was: younger when first taken out of incubator; had greater weight gain per week; needed less incubator care; had a shorter average length of hospital stay and was more frequently breastfed upon discharge. Although preliminary, these results demonstrate potential benefits of the Kangaroo-method of care for further research.