Volume : IX, Issue : IV, April - 2019

EFFECTIVENESS OF KANGAROO MOTHER CARE ON PHYSICAL PARAMETERS AMONG LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES AT SELECTED HOSPITALS IN VELLORE.

Mrs. A. Indumathi, Dr. P. Pandiammal

Abstract :

Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a humane, low cost method of care of Low Birth Weight (LBW) infants particularly for those weighing less than 2000 gms at birth. It consists of skin–to–skin contact, exclusive eastfeeding and early discharge with an adequate follow–up. Knowledge on the effectiveness and safety of KMC and its effects on the child growth is yet to be explored. Despite the said advantages of KMC, it is still not a widely practiced method of care of LBW infants in India as enough data regarding the effect of KMC on growth parameters is not available. As such, this study was conducted to assess the effect of KMC on growth of infants weighing <2000 gms at birth. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of Kangaroo Mother Care on physical parameters among low birth weight babies atselected hospitalsin Vellore.The research design selected for this study is the Experimental Design. Purposive Sample Technique was adopted to select Forty (40) Low Birth Weight babies. Twenty (20) samples were selected for theExperimental Group and Twenty (20) samples for the Control Group.The samples were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Structured questionnaire was usedto assess the demographic variables and weighing scale and flexible measuring tape were used to assess the physical parameters of the infants. The findings of the study show that, the post–test mean value is higher in the experimental group compared to the control group after KMC. Post–test mean value ofphysical parameter of weight is 1.8785. The mean difference is 0.45 and the computed ‘t’ value for weight is 14.77 which is higher than the control group.Similarly,the values of all the post–test physical parameters in the Experimental Group are higher than the Control Group for all other parameters.. This shows that Kangaroo Mother Care is effective in increasing thephysical parameters of Low Birth Weight babies. The ‘chi’ square level of maternal age,occupation,maternal history, educational status, and neonate variables such as gestational age,birth weight and parity were associated at P<0.05 level and other demographic variables are not associated. The findings of the study show that, after KMC, there is a significant increase in the levels ofphysical parametersamong low birth weight babies. As such, it is evident that Kangaroo Mother Care is an effective method to increase the physical parameters of LBW babies.

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

EFFECTIVENESS OF KANGAROO MOTHER CARE ON PHYSICAL PARAMETERS AMONG LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES AT SELECTED HOSPITALS IN VELLORE., Mrs. A. INDUMATHI, Dr. P. PANDIAMMAL INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH : Volume-9 | Issue-4 | April-2019

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