Birth Kangaroo Care (BKC) processes and the time required for each stage

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the processes and the time required for each stage of birth kangaroo care (BKC) by observing the behavior of infants. Specifically, participant observation was conducted for 10 mother-infant pairs with normal delivery between July and September 2003 who gave consent to participate in the study. Observation with video recording was conducted from delivery to either completion of BKC or the point where the infant began to fall asleep. For analysis of the movements and behaviors of the infants during BKC, the durations of each of the following six stages were measured and investigated: 1) delivery, 2) placement on the mother's abdomen, 3) awakening, 4) nipple searching, 5) sucking on the nipple, and 6) drifting into sleep. The results showed that BKC was implemented for a mean of 1 hour and 29 minutes. After being placed on the mother's abdomen, the infant started to suck on the nipple about 1 hour later and started to fall into sleep about 1 hour and 30 minutes later. Individual differences were observed in the duration of time spent at each stage, and having a short duration for one stage did not necessarily mean that the durations of the other stages were also short. The duration of nipple searching after awakening was the longest.