Authors

Paloma Fuente González

Position

Enfermera. Centro de Salud Roces-Montevil. Gijón (Asturias)

Contact address

Paloma Fuente González. C/ San José, 14. 33209 Gijón (Asturias).

Contact email: p.fuente.gonzalez@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the benefits of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and its current status of implementation in Spain.
Method: a narrative review. A bibliographic search was conducted in Pubmed, Dialnet and Scielo, using the terms Kangaroo Mother Care (“método madre-canguro”) and pre-term (“prematuro”) and their synonyms. The search was limited to the last 10 years, in English and Spanish. This was complemented with a secondary search based on the bibliography of interest of previously selected articles, as well as with some books and documents specialized in the matter, by relevant agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health and Social Policy, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), and the international website for the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI).
Results: in total, 18 (eighteen) documents were selected: three meta-analyses, four systematic reviews, two quasi-experimental studies, two cohort studies, one cross-sectional study, five narrative reviews and two monographs. The review highlights the benefits of the application of Kangaroo Mother Care on the development of pre-term babies and their bond with parents. No adverse events were mentioned. There is limited knowledge about the long-term benefits at the level of cognitive and emotional development. The implementation of KMC in Spanish newborn units is heterogeneous and non-existent in some centers.
Conclusions: the use of KMC in newborn units has demonstrated efficacy in many aspects associated with the adequate development of newborn babies. More research is required in order to determine its long-term benefits in terms of cognitive and emotional development. It is essential to create protocols for the implementation of KMC in Spain.

Keywords:

kangaroo mother care; pre-term newborn; child care; skin-to-skin care; Family care

Versión en Español

Título:

El método madre canguro y el niño prematuro