A study dedicated to Colombian premature babies, which followed their development for 20 years, has revealed the fact that the Kangaroo Mother Care technique had an outstandingly positive impact on their lives.
Infants whose parents used the technique proved to be more successful in life, as well as healthier and better adjusted.
Better Than Incubators
Two decades ago, a number of Colombian parents were taught a new way of taking care of their premature babies — the Kangaroo Mother Care. While under close medical supervision, the parents closely followed the rules of the technique.
First of all, breastfeeding was the only way in which the babies received nourishment. Then, even when not suckling, the babies had to have close, skin-to-skin contact at all time with the parent, receiving warmth from the adult body at all time.
Practically, the parent becomes a human incubator, especially as the process begins as soon as possible after birth. While some babies received this type of care, others were placed in incubators until they reached a normal stage of development.
Amazing Results That Last Even During Adulthood
Between 2012 and 2014, 264 of the babies born prematurely were reenrolled into the study in order to assess the effects of the technique on their lives.
The conclusions of the research were quite impressive. First of all, the babies that benefitted from the Kangaroo Mother Care were more likely to survive and reach adulthood.
Thus, the mortality rate of the control group (babies placed in incubators) was more than double when compared with the KMC group (7.7 vs. 3.5 percent).
But the effects seem to reach even farther. The families of the KMC babies were more likely to include both parents and were overall more involved when it came to their children.
The babies that benefitted from the technique grew up to become less truant than other children (23 percent) and also reached a better economic situation.
As young adults, their income was higher by more than 50 percent. Even more, the individuals belonging to the KMC group proved to be overall less aggressive and also had higher IQs.
Dr. Karlee Silver, Vice President Programs at Grand Challenges Canada, one of the initiators of the study, thinks the technique should be expanded.
"This study demonstrates that Kangaroo Mother Care can make all the difference in the world for premature and low birth weight infants. Kangaroo Mother Care is a cost-effective, modern method of care that can and should be applied in every country," noted Silver.
