Title: "Kangaroo Mother Care in the Clinica los Andes, ISS Baranquilla, Colombia"

Licenciada Alicia Sofia Donado Romero

The Clinica Loa Andes of Instituto de Seguros Sociales (ISS), from Barranquilla, Colombia attends more than the 50% of the births of Seccional Atlántico and of the north region of the country. The numbers of births is about 4.250 children per year, approximately, of which 10% are prematures. In order to implant the KMP there were kept in mind some difficulties, opportunities, strengths and threats, which have been overcome and others that still persist. The main difficulties were:

• Lack of human and material resources for the opening of the Kangaroo Program.
• Lack of administrative support for the initial opening of the program.
• Lack of credibility of the assistant personnel in the Program.

The most important strategies in order to get the program ahead have been.

• Training of the members of the team in the techniques of the Kangaroo Program.
• Taking advantage of the economic and materials resources destined to the Programs of Maternal Nursing, in order to structure the program of Mother Kangaroo.
• Continuous and permanent preparation of the professional doctors and assistants in the technique, its advantages, clearly showing its efficiency and efficacy.
• Sensitizing all the workers of the Clínica, so that they know the program.
• Commitment and ownership feeling in the Program from all its leaders.

Until this moment, after four years in the Program 1.560 children have been attended, due to the experience, we know that the technique is efficient and effective, which allows the prematurely born to be integrated to the families and helps to rationalize the economic resource of the institutions and also of the families; in fact, it is the best strategy of attention for the premature, his family and the society.