J Korean Acad Nurs.  2007 Oct;37(6):949-956.

Effects of Kangaroo Care on Anxiety, Maternal Role Confidence, and Maternal Infant Attachment of Mothers who Delivered Preterm Infants

• Lee SB
• Shin HS

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Kangaroo Care(KC) on anxiety, maternal role confidence, and maternal infant attachment of mothers who delivered preterm infants. METHODS: The research design was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest. Data was collected from September 1. 2006 to June 20. 2007. The participants were 22 mothers in the experimental group and 21 in the control group. KC was applied three times per day, for a total of ten times in 4 days to the experimental group. RESULTS: The degree of anxiety was statistically significantly different between the two groups but maternal role confidence and maternal infant attachment was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: This data suggests that KC was effective for mothers anxiety relief but it was not effective for maternal role confidence and maternal infant attachment of mothers. The implications for nursing practice and directions for future research need to be discussed.

Keyword

Kangaroo care; Anxiety; Maternal role confidence; Maternal attachment

MeSH Terms

Adult
*Anxiety
Female
Humans
Infant Care/*methods
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature/*psychology
Maternal Behavior/psychology
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers/*psychology
Neonatal Nursing