Hopp til hovedinnhold
Logo som leder til forsiden

Effects of kangaroo mother care on maternal and paternal health: systematic review and meta-analysis

Forfatter(e)
Pathak, B. G. Sinha, B. Sharma, N. Mazumder, S. Bhandari, N.
År
2023
DOI
10.2471/BLT.22.288977
Tidsskrift
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Sider
391-402G
Kategori(er)
Samspill og tilknytningFor tidlig fødsel
Tiltakstype(r)
Tiltak rettet mot gravide og barselkvinner
Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of kangaroo mother care for low-birth-weight and preterm infants on parents' mental and physical health.

Methods: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Register of Studies Online, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and EMBASE databases were searched on 16 January 2023 for randomized and quasi-randomized trials on kangaroo mother care. Records identified were screened independently by two reviewers. Pooled relative risks (RRs) are reported for categorical variables, and standardized mean differences (SMDs) or mean differences are reported for continuous variables. Evidence quality was assessed using the GRADE approach.

Findings: The search identified 30 studies involving 7719 preterm or low-birth-weight infants. There was high-certainty evidence that kangaroo mother care substantially reduced the risk of moderate-to-severe postpartum maternal depressive symptoms compared with no kangaroo mother care (RR: 0.76; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.59 to 0.96). In addition, there was low-certainty evidence that kangaroo mother care reduced scores for maternal stress (SMD: -0.82; 95% CI: -1.32 to -0.32) and anxiety (SMD: -0.62; 95% CI: -1.01 to -0.23) and increased mother-infant attachment and bonding scores (SMD: 1.19; 95% CI: 0.27 to 2.10). Limited evidence indicated father-infant interactions may be improved, though no marked effect on paternal depression or stress was observed. No trial reported parental physical health outcomes.

Conclusion: Kangaroo mother care for preterm and low-birth-weight infants was associated with less postpartum maternal depression, stress and anxiety and better mother-infant attachment and bonding. More research is required to evaluate effects on paternal health.