title: The Impact of Kangaroo Care on Premature Infant Weight Gain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preterm births occur among 11.4% of all live infant births. Without steady weight gain, premature infants may experience lengthy hospitalizations, neurodevelopmental deficits and hospital readmissions, which can increase the financial burden on the health care system and their families. The total U.S. health-related costs linked to preterm infant deliveries are estimated at $4.33 billion. Kangaroo care is a feasible practice that can improve preterm infant weight gain. However, this intervention is utilized less often throughout the U.S. due to numerous barriers including a lack of consistent protocols, inadequate knowledge, and decreased level of confidence in demonstrating the proper kangarooing technique. An integrative review was conducted to evaluate the impact of kangaroo care on premature infant weight gain in order to educate nurses about its efficacy among preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Reviews, ClinicalKey and Google Scholar. Large volume searches were restricted using appropriate filters and limiters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most of the evaluated studies determined that weight gain was greater among the kangarooing premature infants. Kangaroo care is a low-tech low-cost modality that can facilitate improved preterm infant weight gain even in low-resource settings. Despite its current efficacy, kangaroo care is not widely utilized due to several barriers including an absence of standardized protocols and a lack of knowledge about its benefits. Kangaroo care can become a widespread formalized practice after nurses and parents learn about the technique and its numerous benefits for premature infants, including its association with improved weight gain.
authors.affiliation: Shady Grove Medical Center, Rockville, MD, United States; Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States. Electronic address: mse36@drexel.edu.
authors.forename: Melvina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Evereklian
authors.affiliation: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
authors.forename: Bobbie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Posmontier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D060127:Kangaroo-Mother Care Method / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D014481:United States; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Body weight; Kangaroo care; Kangaroo mother care; Premature infants; Preterm infants; Skin-to-skin care; Weight gain