BMJ  2004;329:1179-1181 (13 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7475.1179

Education and debate

Kangaroo Mother Care, an example to follow from developing countries

¹ Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, School of Medicine, Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia, ² Kangaroo Foundation and Kangaroo Mother Care Program, Bogotá, Colombia, ³ BMJ Knowledge, London WC1H 9JR

Caring for low birthweight infants imposes a heavy burden on poor countries. An effective healthcare technique developed in 1978 may offer a solution to this problem and additionally be of use in wealthy countries too

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Each year about 20 million infants of low birth weight are born worldwide, which imposes a heavy burden on healthcare and social systems in developing countries.^{1 w1} Medical care of low birthweight infants is complex, demands an expensive infrastructure and highly skilled staff, and is often a very disruptive experience for families.^{2 w2 w3 w4} Premature babies in poorly resourced settings often end up in understaffed and ill equipped neonatal care units, that may be turned into potentially deadly traps by a range of factors colluding—for example, malfunctioning incubators, broken monitors, overcrowding, nosocomial infections, etc.

In 1978 Edgar Rey, a Colombian paediatrician concerned with the problems arising from a shortage of incubators and the impact of separating women from newborns in neonatal care units, developed Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC),³ a healthcare technique for low birthweight infants that is at least as effective as traditional care in a neonatal care unit.^{4 5}

What does KMC entail?

In KMC, babies weighing . . . [Full text of this article]

Does it work?

Where has KMC been implemented and where else can it be implemented?

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Conclusion

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