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

Background: Premature birth is a crisis for mothers and affects resilience. Premature babies are at risk for developmental disorders. The Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) can reduce maternal stress and improve the growth of the baby. This study aimed at assessing the effect of home visit based on the continued KMC on maternal resiliency and development of premature infant. Methods: This randomized controlled trial conducted on 50 pairs of mothers and premature babies with 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 this hospital. The experimental group continued the KMC one month after discharge at home and received two home visits. Resiliency of the mothers was assessed in admission, discharge, and one month after discharge with the Connor and Davison questionnaire and the development of the newborns was assessed in two months of adjusted age with Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Data analysis was performed 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. Results: The resiliency score of the mothers one month after discharge was112.50±5.50 and 76.40±5.60 in the experimental and control groups, which was significantly different (P 0.001). The ASQ development score of the newborns in two months of adjusted age was also significantly higher in the experimental than the control group (280.40±15.60vs223.80±22.00) (P 0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that the home visit program based on the continued KMC was effective in increasing maternal resilience and the development of premature infants.