Kangaroo Mother Care: A Low-cost Intervention for Improving Cerebral Hemodynamics in Preterm Babies

Background Kangaroo mother care (KMC) has been utilized extensively for the care of infants with low birth weight and babies born prematurely. However, changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) during KMC interventions are not known clearly. Hence, this study was done, in clinically stable premature babies, to study the changes in cerebral hemodynamics after KMC sessions. Methods It was a prospective study, done without a control group, with a pre-post test design. In our study, an assessment of 104 stable preterm newborns was done, before and after KMC. CBF parameters, which included mean velocity (MV), resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were assessed using doppler ultrasonography in middle cerebral artery. Results Both PI and RI were found to be significantly decreased after KMC sessions. Their values, before and after KMC, were 2.06 ± 0.83 versus 1.67± 1.06 ( p value .04) and 0.88 ± 0.27 versus 0.75 ± 0.37 ( p value .04), respectively. On the other hand, MV of blood flow was found to be increased after KMC (33.47 ± 18.16 vs. 40.46 ± 19.49; p value .01). Thus, there is an increase in CBF parameters after KMC. Conclusion There is an increase in CBF after providing KMC, thereby having a positive influence on the structure and development of the premature infant’s brain.