The improvement of knowledge and skill sofnursesinthe kangaroo mother care method for low Birth weight infants through counseling

ntroduction :A baby's weight at birth is a strong indicator of maternal and newborn health and nutrition. One ofthe
problems that oftenoccur inlow birth weight (LBW) infants is the instability of body temperature. Kangaroo Mother Care
(KMC) is an effective way to keep the infants warm.This study aimsto investigate the improvement of knowledge and
skills of nurses in the implementation of the Kangaroo Mother Care method in LBW through counseling in
Perinatology Room at General District Hospital (RSUD) Ade M. Djoen Sintang. Methods :The design of this research was
pre-experimental. The population in this study was nurses and midwives in Perinatology Room at RSUD Ade M. Djoen
Sintang. Total sampling technique was used with 15 respondents. The independent variable was counseling, while the
dependent variable was knowledge and skills. The data were collected by questionnaires and observations. The
analysis used was Wilcoxon signed rank test with significance level of p <0,05. Result :The results showed that
knowledge (p=0.001) meant there was an improvement of knowledge of nurses and midwives about Kangaroo Mother
Care method by giving counseling. Skills (p=0.001) meant there was an improvement of skills about Kangaroo Mother
Care method in nurses and midwives by giving counseling as well. Discussion :It could be concluded that there was an
improvement of knowledge and skills in conducting Kangaroo Mother Care method in dealing with low birth weight
infants. Nurses should increase knowledge and skills in nursing management in LBW infants by attending the
counseling. Kangaroo care method should be implemented step-by-step completely and correctly, without missing or
forgetting any part.