Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) for treating hypothermia among infant with low birth weight

Abstract

The main causes of morbidity and mortality associated with low birth weight is hypothermia. Hypothermia is a condition where a person's body temperature drops below 35ºC, or when the body loses heat faster than it produces heat. Neonatal mortality rates are high due to hypothermia and low birth weight. Low birth weight babies are highly susceptible to hypothermia due to the thin subcutaneous fat reserves and the immaturity of the brain's heat-regulating centre. Several alternative care methods that are easier, cheaper, and more effective in stabilizing the body temperature of low-birth-weight babies are the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) method. KMC care is a treatment for low-birth-weight babies by providing direct skin-to-skin contact between the baby and the mother by placing the baby on the mother's chest. The KMC method is able to meet the needs of low-birth-weight babies by providing situations and conditions similar to the womb, thus giving low birth weight babies the opportunity to adapt well to the outside world.

Keywords: Complementary therapy, hypothermia, Kangaroo Mother Care, maternity nursing, morbidity prevention