Skin-to-skin cuddling immediately after birth saves fragile babies' lives

The team found that starting kangaroo care immediately after birth improved the baby's survival rate by 25 percent. This was such an obvious benefit that the study monitors stopped the trial early.

N.Engl. J.Med.(2021).

Commentary

This study randomly assigned more than 3,200 newborns weighing between 1 kg and 1.8 kg who were stable immediately after birth to receive "kangaroo care" to determine if there was any change in their chances of survival. The five participating hospitals, located in India, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania, suggest that the low-tech method, called "kangaroo mother care," can significantly reduce the risk of death among high-risk newborns.

It has been suggested that low-tech methods called "kangaroo mother care" can significantly reduce the risk of death in high-risk newborns. "Kangaroo mother care" involves asking the baby to spend as much time as possible in direct contact with the caregiver's skin, and it has been suggested that providing this care to vulnerable babies after birth can increase their chances of survival.

However, feeding babies only breast milk and kangaroo mother care are generally implemented after the baby's condition has stabilized, but it has been reported that many vulnerable babies die before they are stabilized. Therefore, this study illustrates that there are interventions that can improve survival rates when started immediately after birth.