Review Article
Whitney Stuard
Abstract
This literature review examines the role of Kangaroo Care (KC) in an infant’s early development and their vital physiology. By surveying past studies performed analyzing the specific effects of KC, the most relevant health effects of kangaroo care were chosen to analyze. These effects are on neurological, autonomic, somatic, behavioural, and motor development. Infant vital signs illustrate changes upon initiation of KC. These include changes in sleep cycles, heart rate, feeding efficiency, respiratory rate, crying and bonding between caretaker and infant. Chosen studies also addressed the effect of KC on preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants and found KC to reduce duration of hospital stays and mortality. Through examination of past studies the effects of KC were varied from infant to infant due to different medical histories and health factors. The overall conclusion from the previous studies showed that KC had positive effects on the development of a child during the first two years of life. KC is shown to favourably impact an infant and show minimal to no disadvantage to an infant’s health.