Comparative Study of the sensory-motor development of premature newborns from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Kangaroo Method - doi:10.5020/18061230.2005.p191

Abstract

The Kangaroo Method is an alternative to the traditional premature low weight babies’ assistance. It recommends the precocious mother and son’s skin to skin contact, 24 hours per day, guaranteeing to them sensorial and motor stimulations and a greater parent’s participation in the care of their baby. The Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is destined to the treatment of premature babies with some kind of health problem. This study had the aim of comparing the sensory-motor development of premature newborns (RNPt) from a NICU and of those assisted by the Kangaroo Method. It was carried through a comparative, prospective and observational study, at the General Hospital Dr. Cesar Cals, in Fortaleza-CE, from August to October 2004, with 14 RNPt, being 07 of each group, weighting less than 2000g and with gestational age between 30 and 37 weeks. A weekly evaluation was held until discharge from hospital or until they had completed the corrected age of 40 weeks, according to the Dubowitz and Amiel-Tison Method, with the analysis of muscular tonus, sensory-motor answers and weight gain, as well as internment period. As the result, it was observed that the Kangaroo Method babies presented better sensory-motor answers, proven by their lower stress degree, better reflex answers, spontaneous movement and muscular tonus, and lower internment period, remaining more time in state of alert and interacting well with both the environment and the mother. It is concluded that the Kangaroo Method revealed to be a more efficient alternative in the assistance of the low weight RNPt, for providing better results regarding the babies’ sensory-motor activities, if compared to the NICU.