Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care: A Simple Lifesaver for Preterm Infants

Immediate kangaroo mother care (iKMC) — the practice of placing premature or low-birth-weight infants skin-to-skin on a parent's chest as soon as possible after birth — may be one of the simplest and most powerful lifesaving interventions for vulnerable newborns. A new review published in the World Journal of Pediatrics (DOI: 10.1007/s12519-025-00993-5) analyzed five randomized controlled trials from both low- and high-resource settings, including Ghana, India, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Madagascar, Norway, Gambia, and Uganda. The findings show that iKMC, started within the first 24 hours, significantly reduces 28-day neonatal mortality, hypothermia, suspected sepsis, and improves exclusive breastfeeding and weight-related growth compared to delayed kangaroo mother care. The research was conducted by scientists from the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia; Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital; and Universitas Indonesia Hospital.

Kangaroo mother care combines skin-to-skin contact, exclusive breastfeeding, early discharge, and follow-up support. Earlier guidelines recommended starting KMC only after clinical stabilization, but newer evidence suggests immediate initiation yields better outcomes. The review highlights that iKMC not only benefits infants but also offers maternal advantages, such as greater satisfaction and improved postpartum recovery, and can lower healthcare costs by reducing reliance on intensive care. However, successful implementation requires safe monitoring, trained staff, suitable facilities, and family support. The authors argue that iKMC should be considered a core component of neonatal care, not an optional add-on, and emphasize the need for mother–neonatal intensive care units (mother–NICUs) and shared protocols between obstetric and neonatal departments.

The review also identifies gaps in evidence, including unclear long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, limited data from high-resource settings, and the need for more research on extremely low-birth-weight infants. Despite these gaps, iKMC offers a rare combination of low cost and high impact, potentially saving lives while easing pressure on overstretched neonatal systems. The findings underscore the importance of integrating immediate skin-to-skin contact into routine clinical practice globally.