The Effect of Home Visit Program Based on the Continued Kangaroo Mother Care on Maternal Resiliency and Development of Premature Infant: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Premature birth is a crisis for mothers and affects resilience. Premature babies are atrisk for developmental disorders. The Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) can reduce maternal stress andimprove the growth of the baby. This study aimed at assessing the effect of home visit based on thecontinued KMC on maternal resiliency and development of premature infant. This randomized controlled trial conducted on 50 pairs of mothers and premature babieswith gestational age of 26-32 weeks who were admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Om-al-Banin Hospital, Mashhad, Iran in 2019. The KMC is practiced routinely for all eligible newborns in thishospital. The experimental group continued the KMC one month after discharge at home and receivedtwo home visits. Resiliency of the mothers was assessed in admission, discharge, and one monthafter discharge with the Connor and Davison questionnaire and the development of the newborns wasassessed in two months of adjusted age with Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Data analysis wasperformed using SPSS software version 16 and t-test, Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, Friedman, Chi-square,Fishers exact. The significance level was set at p <0.05. The resiliency score of the mothers one month after discharge was112.50±5.50 and 76.40±5.60in the experimental and control groups, which was significantly different (p <0.001). The ASQdevelopment score of the newborns in two months of adjusted age was also significantly higher in theexperimental than the control group (280.40±15.60vs223.80±22.00) (p <0.001). The results showed that the home visit program based on the continued KMC was effectivein increasing maternal resilience and the development of premature infants.