CONTRIBUTIONS OF NURSING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE KANGAROO METHOD FOR THE CARE OF PREMATURE NEWBORNS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Prematurity is a major neonatal health issue, associated with risks to the newborn’s development and the need for patient-centered care. The Kangaroo Care Method stands out as a strategy for supporting preterm newborns. The overall objective of this study was to synthesize the scientific evidence regarding the role of nursing in the implementation of the Kangaroo Care Method and its relationship to the humanization of care and the outcomes of preterm newborns. This is an integrative literature review, with a search conducted in the PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases, as well as in books, Ministry of Health websites, and the World Health Organization’s online collections. Seventeen full-text publications in Portuguese and English, published between 2021 and 2026 and related to nursing, prematurity, and the Kangaroo Method, were included. The results showed that nurses play a fundamental role in all stages of the technique, including clinical monitoring, encouraging skin-to-skin contact, promoting breastfeeding, and humanizing care. Benefits identified included thermal and cardiorespiratory stability, weight gain, and enhanced neurological and socioemotional development. It is concluded that nursing care based on the principles of the Kangaroo Method contributes to the improvement of neonatal care, promoting positive psychosocial and clinical outcomes.