Why use kangaroo care with preterm infants? Preterm infants often have difficulty coordinating their breathing and heart rate, and the close physical contact with the parent provided by kangaroo care can help stabilize the preterm infant’s heartbeat, temperature, and breathing (Boundy & others, 2016; Cho & others, 2016; Park & others, 2014). Preterm infants who experience kangaroo care also gain more weight than their counterparts who are not given this care (Faye & others, 2016). Also, a recent study discovered that preterm infants who experienced kangaroo care for 16 weeks had more complex electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns, which reflects neurological maturation) at 40 weeks of age than preterm infants who did not receive kangaroo care (Kaffashi & others, 2013).

And a recent study demonstrated the positive long-term benefits of kangaroo care (Feldman, Rosenthal, & Eidelman, 2014). In this study, maternal-newborn kangaroo care with preterm infants was linked to better respiratory and cardiovascular functioning, sleep patterns, and cognitive functioning from 6 months to 10 years of age. Further, a recent study in the United Kingdom found that the use of kangaroo care in neonatal units resulted in substantial cost savings mainly because of its reduction in diseases such as gastroenteritis and colitis (Lowson & others, 2016). And in another recent study, kangaroo care significantly reduced the amount of crying and improved heart rate stability in preterm infants (Choudhary & others, 2016).