Abstract: Postpartum anxiety has a high prevalence and exerts profound negative effects on maternal mental health and the mother-infant relationship. Kangaroo Mother Care, as a non-pharmacological intervention, has been shown to effectively alleviate postpartum anxiety. To further elucidate its underlying mechanisms, this review, drawing on attachment theory and the characteristics of postpartum anxiety, and from the perspective of cognitive-behavioral theory, proposes a three-pathway model of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral regulation. The model posits that KMC contact alleviates anxiety through three interacting processes: (1) cognitive reorientation by shifting attention and enhancing maternal self-efficacy to correct maladaptive cognitive biases; (2) emotional regulation by reducing stress and improving sleep quality to enhance affective stability; and (3) behavioral reinforcement by strengthening nurturing behaviors and facilitating maternal role adaptation through positive feedback loops. This framework moves beyond prior single-pathway explanations by integrating neurophysiological mechanisms such as C-tactile fibers, the oxytocinergic system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the reward system. Together, these pathways reveal a cross-level mechanism linking psychological, neurobiological, and behavioral processes through which KMC alleviates postpartum anxiety, thereby providing theoretical support for the broader application of this intervention.

Key words: kangaroo mother care, postpartum anxiety, maternal-infant attachment, cognitive-behavioral theory, cognitive-emotional-behavioral model