Effect of Kangaroo Mother Care on Duration of Phototherapy on Neonatal Jaundice: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• DOI: 10.1007/s12098-021-04013-y
• Publication Date: 2022-01-11T07:02:41Z
• Authors: Mamta Jajoo; Dhulika Dhingra; Apoorva Chandil; Rahul Jain
• Keywords: Infant, Newborn; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Phototherapy; Jaundice, Neonatal; 3. Good health; Kangaroo-Mother Care Method; 03 medical and health sciences; Breast Feeding; 0302 clinical medicine; Humans; Female; Child

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NNH) is a common morbidity in the neonatal period, especially in the preterm and low-birth-weight babies. Low-birth-weight babies receiving phototherapy do not receive kangaroo mother care (KMC), which may hamper their weight gain and establishment of breast-feeding. The authors investigated the effect of KMC on duration of phototherapy in neonates admitted to a level III nursery with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Fifty neonates with gestational age of 30 to 40 wk, birth weight 1001-1999 g, and requiring phototherapy were randomized. Control group received phototherapy in a conventional manner. The intervention group received KMC for 1 h every 8 hourly. The mean (± SD) of total duration of phototherapy required in control group and in KMC group was 39.12 ± 15.3 and 19.44 ± 6.54 h, respectively and this difference was statistically significant.