Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)

When compared with 'conventional' neonatal care, KMC in our setting leads to

• Better weight gain
• Less infection
• Possible less apnoea
• Better short and long-term survival

Babies are admitted to KMC if they weigh <2kg and are otherwise stable (i.e. off oxygen). There is no 'minimum' admission weight, but most will be >1kg AND >34 WEEKS CORRECTED GESTATION AGE.
Babies can be NGT fed when on KMC

Babies can be discharged from KMC once
a) they weight > 1.8 kg
b) they have gained weight on 3 consecutive days
After discharge we try to follow the babies up until they reach 2.5kg.
KMC clinic is on a Tuesday morning in the KMC annex