The impact of kangaroo care on exclusive breastfeeding in low birth weight newborns.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of kangaroo care on exclusive breastfeeding in low birth weight newborns until 6 months of life. METHODS Prospective study carried out with 43 newborns (23 allocated in the kangaroo group and 23 in a control group) weighing < 2,000 g and staying in the neonatal unit for at least 7 days. Exclusive breastfeeding rates between the groups were compared until the age of 6 months. The chi-square test for categorical variables was used and the statistical significance level was 0.05. RESULTS Exclusive breastfeeding rates were higher in the kangaroo group at hospital discharge (82.6 vs. 0%; p = 0.00), at 40 weeks of gestational age (73.9 vs. 31.6%; p = 0.01), at 3 months (43.5 vs. 5.0%; p = 0.005), and at 6 months (22.7 vs. 5.9%; p = 0.20) CONCLUSION Kangaroo care showed to be a facilitator of exclusive breastfeeding for low birth weight newborns until 6 months of life.