The Effect of Kangaroo Mother Care trained by Role-Playing Method on Mother-Infant Attachment and Sleep Quality of Mothers of Premature Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The premature infant imposes significant tension and stress on mothers and may affect quality of mothers' sleep. Therefore, this study was performed to assess the effect of kangaroo mother care using the role-playing method on the mother-infant attachment and sleep quality of mothers of premature infants.

 This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 78 mothers of premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the hospital affiliated to the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences from July 2010 to September 2011. The samples were selected by convenience method, then divided into two experimental and control groups by simple random allocation method. Mothers in the experimental group learned kangaroo mother care in two 30-minute sessions using modeling and unique clothing (role-playing). Then,  mothers performed 20-minute kangaroo mother care three times a day. Mothers in the control group performed kangaroo mother care through pamphlets and educational videos. Subjects completed mother-infant attachment and and sleep quality questionnaires before, after, and one week after the intervention. Data analysed by SPSS (version 22).

There was statistically significant difference between the two groups in the mother-infant attachment one day (P<0.011) and one week (P<0.012) after the intervention. Also, a statistically significant difference was ssen between the two groups in the mothers' sleep quality one day (P<0.001) and one week (P<0.002) after the intervention.

Training of kangaroo mother care by role-playing method could be used as a therapeutic technique in the NICU to improve mother-infant attachment and mamtenal sleep quality.