Effects of Kangaroo Care on Circadian Rhythm, Growth and Physiological Effects

Launched by SIBEL KÜÇÜKOĞLU · Sep 5, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how regular kangaroo care—where a parent holds their premature baby skin-to-skin—affects the baby's growth, sleep patterns, and overall health in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The researchers want to see if this type of care can help improve the baby's body clock, growth rates, and even the levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in breast milk.

To participate in this study, babies need to be born between 28 to 37 weeks of pregnancy and weigh more than 1000 grams (about 2.2 pounds) at birth. They should also have a good APGAR score, which is a quick test done after birth to check how well the baby is doing. However, babies who need machines to help them breathe, have certain medical conditions, or are on specific medications that affect sleep won't be eligible. If families decide to participate, they can expect to engage in regular kangaroo care sessions, and the study will track how this impacts their baby's development and health over time.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Being between 28+0-37 weeks of pregnancy,
• • Birth weight \>1000 g,
• • APGAR score \>7 at the 5th minute after birth,
• • Ability to feed every 2-3 hours
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Getting mechanical ventilation support
• • Undergoing surgery
• • Having diseases and disorders such as congenital brain malformations, meningitis, seizures, encephalopathy, congenital abnormalities, history of intraventricular bleeding, herpes, sepsis and heart or metabolic diseases.
• • Taking medication that affects sleep patterns, such as theophylline, phenobarbital, midazolam, caffeine, fentalnil
• • Having developed intraventricular hemorrhage