Kangaroo Mother Care

This video from USAID’s MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project (MNCSP) in Bangladesh highlights a family’s experience, through the words of the father, using Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) to help improve the health of their sick newborn son.

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is one of the leading proven interventions that can radically improve inpatient care for small and sick newborns, leading to shorter hospitalizations and improved health outcomes. KMC refers to the practice of providing early, continuous, prolonged skin-to-skin contact between caregiver and baby, exclusive breastmilk feeding, and follow-up care with high-risk newborns. It has shown to decrease mortality and morbidity in preterm and low birthweight infants by providing protection from infection; regulating temperature, breathing, and brain activity; and encouraging mother/caregiver-baby bonding. In many cases, newborns who receive KMC are able to be discharged early from the hospital and KMC can be continued at home. When delivered as a complete package, it is highly effective at reducing newborn mortality.