Metabolic rate and energy balance in very low birth weight infants during kangaroo holding by their mothers and fathers

The aim of the study was to compare effects of maternal and paternal kangaroo care on oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, energy expenditure, skin and rectal temperatures, heart and respiratory rates, arterial saturation, and behavioral states. Eleven preterm infants with gestational age of 28 to 31 weeks, birth weight of 560 to 1390 gm, and postnatal age of 8 to 48 days were studied before, during, and after maternal and paternal kangaroo care. Skin temperature (lower leg) increased significantly during both maternal (36.2 ± 0.9° vs 36.9 ± 1.2° C) and paternal (36.3 ± 0.9° vs 36.8 ± 0.9° C) kangaroo care. The other parameter changed neither during maternal nor during paternal kangaroo care. We conclude that both maternal and paternal kangaroo care have no adverse effects on energy expenditure. (J P EDIATR 1996;129:608-11)