Background: Kangaroo care is one of the nursing practices with medical provision that can meet the important physical and emotional needs of the preterm such as warmth, stimulation, parental attachment, breast-feeding and safety. This study aimed to: assess the mothers' knowledge and practices about kangaroo mother care on weight gain of premature neonates in neonatal intensive care units. Research design: A quasi-experimental design was utilized in the current study. Setting: This study was conducted at neonatal intensive care unit in Beni Suef University Hospital. Subjects: A purposive sample of 50 mothers accompanying their premature infants. Tools of data collection: Three tools were used: tool (1) Interviewing questionnaire (characteristics of the mothers & the premature infants), tool (2) Knowledge of the mothers about kangaroo mother care technique, tool (3) Checklist of reported practices (of the studied mother). Results: More than three quarters of the studied mothers had unsatisfied knowledge about Kangaroo Mother Care while about two thirds of them had insufficient practices; there was highly statistical significant positive correlation between studied mothers total knowledge level and total reported practices level. Conclusion: The studied mothers had deficit knowledge and poor level of practice about Kangaroo Mother Care. Recommendation: A periodical educational program to improve the mothers' knowledge and practice about Kangaroo Mother Care.
Keywords: Educational program, Mothers knowledge, Practices, kangaroo mother care.