Implementation and Outcomes of Kangaroo Mother Care for Low-Birth-Weight Infants in a Tertiary Hospital in Burkina Faso: A Four-Year Retrospective Study

---

Résumé

Introduction: Low birth weight (LBW) remains one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Kangaroo maternal care (KMC) is a simple, low-cost intervention recommended by the World Health Organization to improve survival in preterm or low birth weight newborns.
Objective: To evaluate the implementation and outcomes of maternal kangaroo care in the neonatology unit of the Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital in Ouagadougou.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive and analytical retrospective study over the period from December 18, 2021 to December 31, 2024 in the neonatology unit of the pediatrics department. All preterm or low birth weight (<2000 g) infants admitted to the unit with a usable record were included. Sociodemographic, clinical and evolutionary data were analyzed using Stata 16 software. Factors associated with mortality were studied by logistic regression.
Results: we collected 1288 low birth weight newborns who benefited from kangaroo maternal care, i.e. a prevalence of 28.57%, of which 70.3% were preterm infants. Exclusive breastfeeding was the main mode of feeding (71.4%). Most newborns showed a favorable outcome with progressive weight gain during hospitalization. No factors were significantly associated with mortality in the multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: Kangaroo maternal care is an effective and feasible strategy to improve survival of low-birth-weight newborns in resource-limited settings. Strengthening infrastructure and training staff could further improve the implementation of this intervention in Burkina Faso

Mots-clés

Kangaroo Mother Care, low-birth-weight newborns, tertiairy care hospital, Burkina-faso