The effectiveness of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) on depression, anxiety, and stress of mothers with premature infants

The stress and anxiety of mothers with preterm infants affect mother-infant interactions. Skin-to-skin contact demonstrates benefits in the relationship between a mother and a preterm infant. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) on depression, anxiety, and stress of mothers with premature infants. This quasi-experimental study was performed on 100 mothers of premature infants who were admitted to two Bu Ali Sina and Imam hospitals of Sari in 2020. A questionnaire containing demographic information and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) were used as data collection tools. All data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 25. Significant level is considered P < 0.05. The mean age of mothers with premature infants was 28.7 ± 5.4 years. The neonatal birth weight was 1614 ± 342 g and their discharge weight was 2052 ± 418 g. After the intervention, the levels of depression (P = 0.004), anxiety (P = 0.000), and stress (P = 0.003) of mothers in the intervention group were significantly lower than the control group. The results of the present study showed that Kangaroo Mother Care can be used to improve the mental health of mothers with premature infants by reducing the level and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress.