Adapted from Ludington-Hoe & Swinth 1996.
| Autonomically organized infants can maintain stability in the presence of environmental disturbances (such as loud noises or changes in lighting). Kangaroo Care, according to several experiment, creates respiratory and cardiac stability. When infants are in an upright position, the content of the abdominal cavity shifts away from the lungs and creates a negative subdiaphragmatic pressure, which favors expansion of the lungs. As you can see from the table below and the picture, infants' heart and respiratory rates remained within normal limits during Kangaroo care, which is unlike premature infants in regular conditions. Also, as shown below, during Kangaroo care, there is less bradycardia (slow heart rate) and fewer and shorter episodes of apnea (cessation of breathing) (Ludington-Hoe and Swinth 1996). |
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| Source | Findings | |
| Heart Rate | ||
| Ludington-Hoe et al., 1991 | Increased significantly by 9 beats/min, remained within normal limits (WNL) | |
| Bier et al., 1995 | Significantly lower in Kangaroo Care (KC), remained WNL | |
| Ludington-Hoe et al., 1992 | Less variability during KC than in crib | |
| Respiratory Rate | ||
| Ludington, Swinth et al., 1995 | Remained WNL | |
| de Leeuw et al,. 1991 | KC and incubator care statistically similar | |
| Apnea | ||
| Hadeed, Ludington, & Siegel, 1995 | Frequency and duration of apnea reduced during KC | |
| Hamelin & Ramachandran, 1993 | Less frequent episodes during KC | |
| Bradycardia | ||
| Acolet et al., 1989 | No serious bradycardia during KC | |
| Hamelin & Ramachandran, 1993 | Less frequent episodes during KC |
Adapted from Ludington-Hoe & Swinth 1996.
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