Association between rooming-in policy and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

BACKGROUND

The practices promoted by the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative have become a part of current mainstream postpartum infant care. Rooming-in to facilitate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding is a major component of this initiative. However, whether rooming-in is associated with admission for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has seldom been reported. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between rooming-in and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study. Term neonates were consecutively enrolled from the nursery of a medical center from January 2011 to December 2013. During the study period, rooming-in care was strongly encouraged according to the World Health Organization guidelines, if the parents agreed. The endpoint was defined as admission for phototherapy. Risk of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in rooming-in neonates was calculated. Potential confounding factors, including exclusive breastfeeding, potential ABO incompatibility, Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, and body weight loss (BWL), were adjusted by multiple logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Totally, 3341 infants were enrolled in this study after excluding 40 infants admitted for other reasons. The rooming-in rate increased yearly during the study period. However, the rate of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia also increased simultaneously. The odds ratio (OR) of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in the rooming-in group was 7.04 (95% CI, 4.41∼11.24). The rooming-in group demonstrated a higher percentage of exclusive breastfeeding and BWL >10% at 3 days of age. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, rooming-in was still a significant risk factor for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (OR: 8.48; 95% CI: 5.04∼14.25).

CONCLUSIONS

The practice of rooming-in is now part of the mainstream postpartum newborn care. However, the increased incidence of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a potential side effect of which healthcare providers should be aware. Further research is needed to confirm the role of rooming-in in neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.