The long-term effects of the Kangaroo Mother Care intervention on cognitive functioning: Results from a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) intervention on the intellectual and attentional functioning of young adults born with low birth weight. Three hundred infants were randomly assigned at birth in one of two interventions, KMC or traditional care (TC), and completed cognitive tests at adulthood (19–21 years after recruitment). The main results show that participants with a neurological vulnerability at 6 months had higher IQ and sustained attention scores at adulthood if they had received KMC than if they had received TC.

KEYWORDS:

• Kangaroo Mother Care
• Low birth weight
• Intervention
• Cognitive benefits

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Dr Michel-Pierre Coll for useful comments on this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by grants from Grand Challenges Canada and The Administrative Department of Science, COLCIENCIAS, Colombia.