Kangaroo mother care: practical Guidelines

Adriano Cattaneo and Riccardo Davanzo, Trieste, Italy.

Outline of the draft document in preparation on behalf of the Maternal and Newborn Health / Safe Motherhood Unit of the WHO, Geneva.

  1. Definitions (kangaroo mother care and skin-to-skin contact)
  2. Evidence of effectiveness and safety (short)
  3. Description of the method
    1. Initial care of all newborn infants
    2. Level of care
    3. Timing
    4. Eligibility
    5. Position
    6. Duration
    7. Feeding
      1. Stimulation of breastfeeding
      2. Formula feeding before breastfeeding is established
      3. Expressed breastmilk
      4. Methods to increase milk production
      5. Relactation
  4. Monitoring
    1. Breathing
    2. Feeding and growth
    3. Temperature
  5. Discharge
  6. Follow-up
  7. Ambulatory KMC
  8. Acceptability
  9. Constraints
  10. Requirements
  11. Cost
  12. Research needs