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Breastfeeding and Readmission for Hyperbilirubinemia in Late Preterm and Term Infants in Beirut, Lebanon

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Abstract

Objective

To determine whether exclusive breastfeeding is associated with readmission of jaundiced newborns.

Methods

We retrieved medical records of 51 consecutive neonates >35 weeks with jaundice who were readmitted to the hospital, and compared to 164 controls. Data on gender, gestational age, birth weight, mode of delivery, feeding, bilirubin levels and breastfeeding counseling were analyzed.

Results

24% babies were readmitted for hyperbilirubinemia reaching phototherapy level. Early term infants had significantly higher risk for readmission compared to term [OR (95% CI) 2.12 (0.99–4.53); P = 0.05]. The risk of readmission was lower amongst subjects receiving mixed/formula feeding [OR (95% CI) 0.51 (0.26–0.98); P=0.046] odds of readmission decreased for those feeding >8 times per day (OR (95% CI) 0.46 (0.23–0.91); P=0.016], and those who stayed in hospital for more than 2 days after birth [OR (95% CI) 0.95(0.93–0.97); P<0.001].

Conclusions

Ensuring feeding at least 8 times per day and keeping newborns beyond the first 24 hours decreases the chance of readmission.

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Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut (AUB), Beirut, Lebanon

    El Arab Hanin, Hojeij Rayan & Charafeddine Lama

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon

    Tamim Hani

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Jammal Taleb

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Balamand University, Beirut, Lebanon

    Al Hamod Dany

Authors
  1. El Arab Hanin
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  2. Hojeij Rayan
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  3. Tamim Hani
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  4. Jammal Taleb
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  5. Al Hamod Dany
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  6. Charafeddine Lama
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charafeddine Lama.

Additional information

Ethics approval

Institutional Review Board at the American University of Beirut; No. PED.LC.12, dated March 14, 2017.

Contributors

HEA, RH: data collection and data curation, writing-original draft preparation; HT: formal data analysis, writing-review and editing; TJ, DAH: data collection, review and editing; LC: conceptualization, methodology, resources, project administration, supervision, validation, writing-review and editing. All authors approved the final version of manuscript, and are accountable for all aspects related to the study.

Competing interest

None stated.

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Hanin, E.A., Rayan, H., Hani, T. et al. Breastfeeding and Readmission for Hyperbilirubinemia in Late Preterm and Term Infants in Beirut, Lebanon. Indian Pediatr 59, 218–221 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-022-2472-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-022-2472-y

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