BMJ  2004;329:1182 (13 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7475.1182

Commentary

Family friendly care

Neil Marlow, professor of neonatal medicine1

1 School of Human Development, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH neil.marlow@nottingham.ac.uk

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

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) had a dramatic effect on the ability to provide care in its original setting and there is little doubt that it appears a safe and effective approach to caring for premature infants.1 Although the original aim was to provide effective care in settings with scarce resources, the use of KMC in Western settings would have different aims, which in essence reduce to three main areas: improved contact between mother and infant (and father and infant), quicker establishment of breast feeding, and shorter stay in hospital. Whether longer term outcomes in important measures, such as behaviour or developmental progress, are notably improved remains a tantalising possibility, but better early maternal infant interaction may have equally important benefits for both mother and child.w1 The accompanying article makes it clear that in many settings KMC is welcomed by parents and its use is supported by parent groups, including the . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Kangaroo Mother Care, an example to follow from developing countries
Juan Gabriel Ruiz-Peláez, Nathalie Charpak, and Luis Gabriel Cuervo
BMJ 2004 329: 1179-1181. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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