The Effect of Kangaroo Contact on Duration of Exclusive Breastfeeding and Success of Lactation among Primiparous Women at Shahid Akbar-Abadi Hospital in Tehran

Exclusive breastfeeding which has been recommended as the best feeding method for infants up to six months has a protective effect against mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, breastfeeding is not a universal practice and reduction in breastfeeding rate is now considered as a serious problem, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Kangaroo contact on duration of exclusive breastfeeding and success of first breastfeeding in primiparous women.

This study is a randomized controlled trial performed in labor and maternity wards of Shahid Akbar-Abadi hospital in Tehran. One hundred healthy primiparous mother-infant dyads were randomly assigned either to Kangaroo contact (n=50) or routine care (n=50). The Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool was used to assess success of first breastfeeding and duration of exclusive breastfeeding was evaluated by face to face interview in 4 months post delivery. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

In Kangaroo contact group, 100 percent of babies had a successful first feed compared with 74% in the routine care group. The difference in the success rate was 26%, with 95% confidence interval χ² =14.943 df =1 P ≤ 0.0001. No statistical significant differences was found in duration of exclusive breastfeeding (101.2 ± 27.84 vs 88.7 ± 42.47 P< 0.85) during follow up.

Very early Kangaroo contact enhanced breastfeeding success during the early postpartum period. The difference between the groups in duration of exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months was not statistically significant. Overall, we believe our study provides support for the implementation of Kangaroo contact.