Also known as the kangaroo mother method, it originated in Bogotá, Columbia as a cost-effective means of caring for the very preterm or low-birthweight infant during the period of neonatal intensive care. The method, which has spread to neonatal intensive care units in Europe and North America, involves periods of skin-to-skin contact between infant and parent achieved by means of carrying the infant in a sling. The few evaluation studies carried out on the method have reported that infants in the treatment group had lower rates of serious illness and fewer readmissions, but did not differ from controls with regard to mortality and growth.
See Colic, Preterm infants, Proximal care, Very (or extremely) preterm birth