Kangaroo Mother Care

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a method of care for all newborn babies, both premature and full-term. This method uses the mother's skin and presence to stabilize the baby. It also promotes breastfeeding, which itself can be lifesaving for premature babies. KMC has three components:

1. Skin-to-skin contact between the baby's front and the mother's chest: Skin-to-skin contact should ideally start at birth, but is helpful at any time. It should ideally be continuous day and night, but shorter periods are still helpful.
2. Exclusive breastfeeding: for an average mother, direct suckling by the baby from the breasts is all that is needed. For very premature babies, milk and additional essential nutrients may be needed.
3. Support of the dad: whatever is needed for the medical, emotional, psychological and physical well-being of mother and baby is provided to them without separating them. This might mean adding ultramodern equipment, if available, or purely intense psychological support in low-resource settings.