Abstract

Background: Low birth weight neonates account for 15-20% of annual worldwide live-births (20 million births). Low birth weight babies contribute to a huge proportion of neonatal deaths. Kangaroo Mother Care(KMC) is a proven intervention for the survival of LBW neonates.  Length of hospital stay among babies on KMC is associated with morbidities and mortalities. Early discharge with neonatal home care can be effective, safe, and cost saving for medically stable infants. The current study aimed at assessing predictors of length of hospital stay among neonates on kangaroo mother care, Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: Facility based longitudinal study was conducted from 2017 to 2019 among low birth weight babies (<2000gram) and their mothers who were admitted for KMC at four hospitals of the KMC implementation research project sites. Data were collected in face to face interview techniques using using cisprol tool modified standard questionnaires. Data analysis was made using SPSS. Multiple linear regressions were carried out to identify the predictors of hospital stay. P.value of <0.05 was considered significant with crude beta and 95% confidence intervals.

Findings: A total of 423 neonates and their mothers were included in this study. The mean duration of hospital stay on KMC was 8.6 days with 95% CI of (8.03, 9.31) days. In multiple linear regression, mothers’ school years completed (B= -0.23, 95% CI: -0.43, -0.02), increased birth weight (B= -0.01, 95% CI: -0.02, -0.01) and gestational age at birth (B= -1.37, 95% CI: -0.63, -0.10) were found to decrease length of hospital stay on KMC. Whereas, an increase in age of KMC initiation (B= 0.13, 95% CI: 0.001, 0.26) and twins/triple births (B= 1.46, 95% CI: 0.37, 2.55), were found to increase duration of hospital stay on KMC.

Conclusions: The mean neonatal length of hospital stay on KMC was close to 9 days. Predictors of hospital stay were mothers’ completed years of schooling, birth weight, gestational age at birth, late KMC initiation and multiple births. Therefore, maternal empowerment through education and support for multiple births and early KMC imitation are recommended to reduce the hospital stay among KMC initiated neonates.