Available online 13 October 2022, 102693

Premature birth and low birth weight explain major long-term loss of human potential.

The two main protocols, the traditional care (TC) that uses incubators and the kangaroo mother care (KMC) that uses 24-hour skin-to-skin contact between newborns and caregivers might have different effects on long-term education outcomes.

Compared to TC, KMC children attend preschool longer, and are less likely to be absent from school.

There are no robust differences in Math and Language test scores nor high-school graduation between KMC and TC children by the end of high school.

Effects are positive for KMC compared to TC for children with birth weight of 1,800 g or less. There are no differences across treatments for children between 1,800 g and 2,000 g.

We compare the educational effects of two medical protocols that mitigate long-term consequences of prematurity or low birth weight. The two protocols are Traditional Care (TC), which uses incubators, and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) which replaces incubators for 24-hour skin-to-skin contact between newborns and caregivers. We concentrate on educational outcomes addressing contradictory results in previous contributions. We use a randomized controlled trial implemented in 1993 that randomly assigned children to either TC or KMC. OLS results suggest that KMC children spent more time in preschool, had fewer temporary school absences, and showed lower math test scores. Both groups observed similar effects on high-school graduation and language test scores. We correct for attrition, small sample, and multiple outcomes. Effects on preschool attendance and school absenteeism are robust, particularly for more vulnerable infants (birth weight ≤ 1,800 g). The other effects lose statistical significance due to multiple outcome testing or attrition corrections.

I12

J13

O15

Premature children

Kangaroo program

Education

Long-run effects

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.