Kangaroo Mother Care process reduces infections in premature babies: Experts

Mahabubnagar: Marking the International Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) Day, health experts from Mahabubnagar have claimed that the KMC procedure has proven beneficial in the prematurely born babies with less than 1,800 grams of weight and it had reduced infections and decreased infant mortality rate up to 40 per cent.

Speaking on the innovative treatment modality of premature babies, Dr Shekhar, Medical Director from Ravi Children's Hospital, in Mahabubnagar informed that every year May 15th is celebrated as KMC day. This innovative treatment procedure has remarkably improved the healthcare conditions of the premature babies and improved the infection and mortality rates among the infants.

"KMC treatment procedure was first discovered by Dr Edgar Ray of Columbia in the year 1978 and he was the first to introduce the procedure to the world. Ever since then world over this new treatment procedure has drastically improved the infant and neonatal mortality in the world," informed Dr Shekhar.

Adding further another Neonatologists Dr Kireeti explained that the KMC procedure is nothing but to take the premature baby and place it in between the breasts of the mother like a Kangaroo caries her baby in its pouch and give the baby the much needed warmth and affection to the new born premature baby.

"Skin to skin touch and the body temperature of the mother to the baby is very important for the development of organs of the premature babies. Usually babies which are born less than 1800 grams will have their organs developed very less and it is very important for such babies to create an environment and warmth similar to that of a mother's womb outside. In view this, the Kangaroo mother care treatment has proven effective in the treatment of premature babies and drastically reduced infections and mortality rates," informed the Neonatlogists.

Explaining the benefits, the health experts further said that the KMC procedure is cost effective and not just mothers, even the parent or any other relative of the baby can give the KMC.

The experts also revealed that in India out of every 100 new births 13 per cent babies are born with less weight and of them 48 per cent are dying due to under weight and low level development due to premature births.