KADAR KORTISOL SALIVA PADA BAYI BERAT LAHIR RENDAH DENGAN PERAWATAN METODE KANGURU

Introduction: Low birth weight (LBW) baby is a baby with a birth weight ofless than 2500 grams regardless gestational age. The most common cause of LBW is premature birth, which generally does not have the ability to regulate excessive stimuli from the environment so that it can trigger stress. Stress in babies will cause an increase in the cortisol hormone. Continuously elevating cortisol levels can increase the risk of cognitive and behavioral disorders, increased blood pressure and metabolic syndrome disorders. Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is an alternative to incubators in LBW treatment, with several advantages including: fulfilling the most basic needs of the baby, namely the contact of the baby's skin to the mother's skin with one of the benefits of being able to increase the bond between the baby and the mother so that it is expected to reduce stress on LBW babies.

Purpose: This study aims to assess the effect of KMC on salivary cortisol levels in LBW.

Methods: This study used prospective cohort design at the Dr. WahidinSudirohusodo Hospital and Hasanuddin University Hospital Makassar. The population of this study were all neonatal patients diagnosed with LBW without comorbidities and met the criteria for inpatient KMC. This study compared the effect of KMC and conventional treatments on salivary cortisol levels before and after treatment in each group.

Results: This study involved 45 LBW babies divided into 2 groups, 23 LBW babies in the KMC group and 22 LBW babies in the conventional care group. Based on the bivariate analysis on the characteristics of sex,gestational age, diagnosis, method of delivery, body weight, body length,head circumference, initial cortisol levels in the KMC and non-KMC groups before treatment, the p value was > 0.05, which means there was no significant difference. So it can be concluded that the characteristics of LBW in the KMC and non-KMC groups are not different. Comparative analysis of salivary cortisol levels before and after KMC obtained a value of p = 0.000 (p <0.05) which indicates that there is a significant difference in terms of reducing salivary cortisol levels. Comparative analysis of salivary cortisol levels before and after conventional treatment obtained p value = 0.016 (p <0.05), which indicates that there is a significant difference in terms of increasing salivary cortisol levels.

Conclusion: There is an effect of KMC on LBW babies in terms of reducing salivary cortisol levels.