Nearly 6 million children died before the age of five in low- and middle-income countries in 2015. Approximately 45 %, more than 2.5 million, die within the first month of life, 1 million of these on the first day. In addition, about one million unborn babies and 150,000 women die during childbirth. One possible solution: Kangaroo Mother Care. One of the projects is about initiating Kangaroo Mother Care in homes, and is described as one of the key scientific outcomes of CISMAC for 2016. Kangaroo Mother Care, sometimes called skin-to-skin-care, consists of low birth weight babies being wrapped to the mother’s or father’s chest. This substantially enhance the baby’s chances of survival, reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infection, and increasing rates of breastfeeding and weight gain. This is a promising low-cost intervention for this vulnerable group.
