Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Nutrients

Publication Date

5-28-2022

Abstract

Mothers and newborns have a natural physiological requirement to be together immediately after birth. A newborn has a keen sense of smell and will instinctively seek out the mother's nipple and begin breastfeeding if placed skin-to-skin with her. This practice is known as Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). It was first suggested in 1978 and has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a means to ensure successful breastfeeding. It is well documented that KMC is associated with positive breastfeeding outcomes, particularly in cases where breastfeeding is exclusive and, on average, continued for 3 months or longer. Studies of infant nutrition and breastfeeding have shown the importance of immediate, uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact between newborn and mother following vaginal birth. This practice is also recommended for mothers who give birth via cesarean section, once the newborn is stable. The rate of breastfeeding is still suboptimal in Middle Eastern countries, in light of the WHO's recommendation that mothers should exclusively breastfeed for the first six months and continue breastfeeding for up to two years. To increase the rate of breastfeeding, practices should be promoted that have been shown to improve outcomes, such as KMC. However, little is known about this important practice in the region. The aim of this study was to shed light on KMC-related studies conducted in the Middle East between January 2010 and January 2022. Specifically, this review examines breastfeeding practice rates for the first 6 months of birth, and evidence of KMC practices, by country and type of study design. The research terms used for this review were "skin to skin", "Skin to skin contact", and "Kangaroo Mother Care", focusing on "Middle East", "Eastern Mediterranean", "Arabian Gulf", "Arab", and "GCC".

ISSN

2072-6643

Publisher

MDPI AG

Volume

14

Issue

11

First Page

2266

Last Page

2266

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Keywords

Skin to skin contact, Kangaroo Mother Care, Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, Arabian Gulf, GCC

Scopus ID

85130842341

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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