The effect of kangaroo care on maternal attachment in preterm infants

The study was conducted to determine the effect of kangaroo care on maternal attachment in preterm infants in Turkish mothers.

The study was conducted a quasi-experimental research design between October 2015 and February 2016 in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) of two state hospitals located in the east and west of Turkey. The study population consisted of preterm infants hospitalized in the NICU at the time of the research and met the study-group selection criteria. The study population was divided into two groups as an experimental and control group. Kangaroo care (n = 30) was provided to the infants in the experimental group by their mothers. No intervention was applied to the infants in the control group (n = 30) other than the routine practice. Data were collected by the researcher using the 'Introductory Information Form' and the 'Maternal Attachment Inventory'. Data analysis was performed with SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) 18 software package. The data were analyzed using percentile distributions, mean, standard deviation, t-test, and Chi-square test. Official permissions and ethical approval were obtained to conduct the study.

It was determined that the experimental and control group included in the study were similar in terms of the characteristics of the baby and the mother (P> 0.05). In the study, the mean maternal attachment scale score (MAS) of the group in which the kangaroo care was provided was higher than the control group with a statistically significant difference between the groups (P < 0.05).

As a result of the study, it was concluded that kangaroo care positively affects maternal attachment and it is suggested that further studies should be conducted to evaluate the effect of kangaroo care on mother-infant attachment in Turkey.