The effect of kangaroo mother care on the duration of phototherapy of infants re-admitted for neonatal jaundice.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of kangaroo mother care (KMC) on the duration of phototherapy of jaundiced neonates. METHODS: Fifty Egyptian newborns hospitalized for jaundice were investigated through a prospective observational study to determine whether intermittent KMC would reduce the duration of phototherapy required. RESULTS: The babies who received KMC recovered earlier from jaundice and needed a shorter duration of phototherapy than the control group (68.14 ± 24.32 hour versus 100.86 ± 42.26 hour, p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: KMC may be an effective intervention to reduce the duration of phototherapy needed when jaundiced babies are hospitalized.