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© 2025 Washington et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Introduction

Early initiation with optimal duration of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), for all stable small babies (<2000grams at birth), is essential for accelerated reduction of neonatal mortality. The purpose of this paper is to explore the support received by mothers along the health facility-community continuum and its association with KMC practice.

Methods

All live small babies aged >  4 weeks of life, who were residing in the Gangawati sub-district, were recruited on a rolling basis (Dec 2017-Sept 2018) to obtain the estimated sample size of 210. Mother-baby dyads were visited in their homes to collect information [knowledge, attitude, and support received] for KMC initiation and maintenance till required. Secondary data on KMC duration was obtained from the district-wide project database.

Results

A total of 209 mothers with 227 small babies were interviewed (18 had twins). The mothers had a mean age of 23 (±4) years; and 7(±5) years of education, with 5 (±2) family members >  18 years in their households. More than half (51%) of the babies were female with a mean age of 35.6 (±7.5)days/ 4-6weeks and mean birth weight of 1693.6 (±221.4)grams irrespective of gestational age; 21.6% of whom were ≤ 1500g at birth. Most of the babies 205 (90.3%) were initiated on KMC at the health facility. The score obtained for KMC initiation [45%} and KMC maintenance support at the health facility [51.3%] was minimal. Multiple regression linear analysis showed that overall KMC support at the health facility was significantly higher for first-time mothers [β coefficient -1.54 (95% CI -2.87, -0.22)] and better knowledge scores on KMC [β coefficient 0.21 (05% CI 0.01, 0.42)]. KMC maintenance support was significantly higher for first-time mothers [β coeff -3.62 (95% CI -6.29, -0.96)] and for mothers whose babies had lower birth weights [β coeff -4.27 (95% CI -7.50, -1.05)].

Conclusion

Mothers require support to initiate and continue KMC along the health facility-community continuum (S1 Table). The role of support at home would require further exploration to determine its association with KMC practice.

Details

Title
An exploration of the support received by mothers for kangaroo mother care practice along the health facility-community continuum in a sub-district of Northern Karnataka, India
Author
Washington, Maryann; Macaden, Leah  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Mony, Prem K; Selvam, Sumithra; Smith, Annetta
First page
e0308738
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2025
Publication date
Mar 2025
Publisher
Public Library of Science
e-ISSN
19326203
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3174736417
Copyright
© 2025 Washington et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.