Table 1.

Inclusion and excluded criteria for selection of KMC studies

Inclusion criteria (PICOTS)	Excluded criteria
Population: LBW and VLBW baby pairs and their parents	Articles published in non-English language
Intervention: KMC (skin-to-skin contact)	Community-based articles
Comparison: CNC	Pilots study articles
Outcome: HMI (length of stay, readmission to hospital, parent satisfaction and parents preference for same postdelivery care)	Articles with <10 sample size
Time: 0 day-18 month after intervention	Articles published earlier than January 1, 2000
Study design: randomized controlled trial studies	Specific kind of articles (conference presentations, case reports and qualitative studies)

CNC=Conventional neonatal care, LBW=Low birth weight, VLBW=Very LBW, HMI=Hospital management indicators, KMC=Kangaroo Mother Care