59 KEY MESSAGES KMC is a holistic approach to caring for preterm/low-birthweight babies, having many short-term benefits for the baby and the mother, including improving survival, temperature regulation, preventing infections, and promoting growth. KMC is the best form of developmentally supportive care and improves brain development by stimulating all six senses just the right way. It empowers the mother and restores her in the center of her baby’s universe. Continuous and prolonged skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo position), exclusive breastfeeding (kangaroo nutrition), and early discharge with adequate follow-up (kangaroo discharge) are the components of KMC. It should be started immediately after birth and continued for as long as possible every day (minimum 8-24 hours/day) with each session lasting > 1 hour. The mother is the best KMC provider, but other family members can give KMC. The KMC binder is essential, especially for prolonged KMC and ambulatory KMC. Monitoring the baby in KMC is vital. The baby decides when to wean off KMC by wriggling out. This usually happens when the baby is about 2.5 kg. Contributors • Bharathi Balachander • Nalina A • Vishwas Rao • Anjali Raj • Lakshmiparvathi B • Pragya Dubey
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