Study measurements
Parents of neonates in the control group and BEMPU group were taught to enter the details of KMC provided during the last two days of hospitalization in the printed copies of the "KMC chart" (Supplementary material 1). Parents were taught to enter KMC hours in the KMC chart in date and time format only if the individual KMC session was of one hour or more. In addition to the" KMC chart", parents of neonates in the BEMPU group also received "BEMPU beep chart" (Supplementary material 2) during the last two days of hospitalization, in which parents were taught to maintain the beep record of BEMPU. The authors prepared both charts with clear instructions in the vernacular (Gujarati) language. Parents with respect to their group of enrollments received new printed copies "BEMPU beep chart" and/ or "KMC chart" at discharge to be filled on real-time basis at home for the next four weeks.Potential confounders were taken care of by keeping discharge instructions, KMC education, breastfeeding advice, follow-up schedule, and data collection methods similar between the two groups. Parents were taught about the clothing and wrapping of the newborns. They were also advised to keep the room draught free and to practice bedding in. Weekly follow-ups were held with parents for four weeks after discharge to record measurements (weight, length, head circumference) of growth and daily sessions of KMC at a pediatric outpatient department of the same institute.The same digital weighing scale [Make: Citizen Weighing System (CWS)], infantometer [seca 416 (Make: Seca, Medical measurement systems and scales), and non-stretchable measure tape were used for the weight (g), length (cm), and head circumference (cm) measurements respectively. The measurements were done in accordance with standard guidelines