BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hyperbilirubinemia is a common problem in the neonatal period. Phototherapy is regarded as the most important treatment for this condition. Several factors affect the duration of phototherapy in newborns with jaundice. Considering the scarcity of research on the impact of kangaroo mother care (KMC) on phototherapy duration, in this study, we aimed to determine whether KMC can influence the duration of phototherapy in icteric infants.

METHODS: In this clinical trial, 106 term neonates with hyperbilirubinemia were selected and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Conventional phototherapy was performed following the same procedure for all the neonates. The subjects were matched in terms of age, sex, and weight and the two groups were breastfed at least every three hours. In the intervention group, KMC was applied during breastfeeding at least six times over 24 h. On the other hand, KMC was not applied in the control group during phototherapy. Bilirubin level was measured at 24, 48, and 72 h after phototherapy. The mean duration of phototherapy and length of hospital stay were compared during the treatment (IRCT: 201505231760N40).

FINDINGS: Age, sex, and the mean bilirubin level at the beginning of the study did not significantly differ between the groups (16.75±0.75 mg/dl in the intervention group and 16.53±0.95 mg/dl in the control group). However, phototherapy duration and the mean length of hospital stay in the intervention group (64.25±17.54 h) were shorter than the control group (91.12±16.26 h) (p=0.000).

CONCLUSION: Concurrent application of KMC and phototherapy can reduce the length of hospital stay among infants treated with phototherapy.