The effects of kangaroo care applied by mothers who have premature babies and who cannot breastfeed on mothers' stress levels and the amount of milk

Aim: This study was conducted to assess the effect of kangaroo care applied by mothers who have premature babies and who cannot breastfeed on mothers' stress levels and the amount of milk. Material and Method: This study was conducted in newborn units of two hospitals, one state and one private hospital, in Elazığ province between December 2017 and October 2018 as an experimental study with pre-test, post-test and control group. The sample of the study included 80 (study group n=42, control group n=38) mothers whose premature babies that were not breastfed were hospitalized in the newborn intensive care unit. The data were collected through Descriptive Information Form, Parental Stress Scale: NICU and Breast Milk Follow-up Form. The mothers in the study and control group filled in Parental Stress Scale: NIC before and after the study was conducted. The mothers in the study group applied kangaroo care to their babies once a day and five times a week for three weeks. The mothers milked their breasts every day for three weeks with breast milking machine or pump and wrote the amount of total milk in Breast Milk Follow-up Form. Averages, percentage, Pearson Chi-square, t test and one-way ANOVA for repeated measurements were used in the assessment of data. Results: It was found that post-test total score averages and averages of the sub-dimensions of "images and sounds", "appearance and behaviours of the baby" and "parental role" of mothers in the study group who applied kangaroo care were found to decrease when compared with the mothers in the control group (p˂0.05). It was found that the breast milk amount averages of the mothers in the study group increased in all measurements when compared with the control group (p=0.000). Conclusion: It was found that kangaroo care application was effective in decreasing the stress levels and increasing the breast milk amounts of mothers who have premature babies and who cannot breastfeed.