Department of Global Cultures, History, and Language, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA.
Passon School of Nursing, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA.
Afr Health Sci. 2020 Mar;20(1):498-508. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v20i1.56.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) requires few specialized resources, reduces mortality, and can be implemented in low resource environments. It is now recommended for implementation around the globe.
This paper discusses KMC use with low birth weight newborns at a Tanzania hospital providing valuable outcomes assessment of KMC use in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
The research used retrospective records (136 Low Birth Weight (LBW) and 33 Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) neonates) supplemented by observations. Data included weights (longitudinal), survival period, and cause of death if it occurred. This hospital's KMC use and study data began when the mother-baby dyad was referred, usually birth day.
This KMC group demonstrated 70% survival, but 77% of deaths occur within 24 hours. After the first 24 hours, KMC survival rate was 92%. Even VLBW neonates (<1000 g) had 37.5% survival among the KMC program. Prematurity and respiratory distress caused nearly half of the deaths, but hypothermia (19% of deaths) and infection were factors also.
Our study indicates the value of KMC in rural low resource environments. Results are comparable to KMC programs in urban areas where newborns begin KMC after stabilization and better than outcomes reported for comparable populations not practicing KMC in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
袋鼠式护理（KMC）需要的专业资源很少，可以降低死亡率，并且可以在资源有限的环境中实施。现在全球范围内都推荐使用 KMC。
本文讨论了坦桑尼亚一家医院使用袋鼠式护理来照顾低出生体重儿的情况，为评估 KMC 在撒哈拉以南非洲农村地区的应用提供了有价值的结果。
该研究使用回顾性记录（136 例低出生体重儿（LBW）和 33 例极低出生体重儿（VLBW）新生儿），并辅以观察。数据包括体重（纵向）、生存时间和死亡原因（如果发生）。该医院的 KMC 使用和研究数据始于母婴对被转介时，通常是出生日。
KMC 组的存活率为 70%，但 77%的死亡发生在 24 小时内。24 小时后，KMC 的存活率为 92%。即使是极低出生体重儿（<1000 克），KMC 项目的存活率也达到了 37.5%。早产和呼吸窘迫导致近一半的死亡，但低体温（19%的死亡）和感染也是死亡的因素。
我们的研究表明，KMC 在农村资源有限的环境中具有价值。结果与城市地区 KMC 项目的结果相当，城市地区的新生儿在稳定后开始接受 KMC，优于在撒哈拉以南非洲农村地区不实施 KMC 的可比人群的报告结果。
