title: The effect of massage on neonatal jaundice in stable preterm newborn infants: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effects of massage therapy on transcutaneous bilirubin of stable preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  The controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2014 at Shahid Hasheminejhad Hospital, Iran, and comprised preterm neonatal children in the neonatal intensive care unit. The newborns were divided into two groups of massage and control via random allocation. The children in the control group received the routine therapy whereas those in the massage group underwent the same four days of routine plus 20 minutes of massage twice a day. The transcutaneous bilirubin and the number of excretions of the newborns were noted from the first to the fourth day of the intervention and results were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 40 newborns in the study l 20(50%) each in the two groups. There was a significant difference in the number of times of defecation (p=0.002) and in the level of bilirubin (p=0.003) between the groups with those in the massage group having a higher number of defecations as well as a lower level of transcutaneous bilirubin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Through massage therapy the bilirubin level in preterm newborns can be controlled and a need for phototherapy can also be delayed.
authors.affiliation: Social Development & Health Promotion Research Center, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Basiri-Moghadam
authors.affiliation: Social Development & Health Promotion Research Center, Iran.
authors.forename: Kokab
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Basiri-Moghadam
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kianmehr
authors.affiliation: BS. in Nursing, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran.
authors.forename: Somaye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jani
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood*; D003672:Defecation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin
keywords: Neonatal jaundice, Massage, Preterm infants, Transcutaneous bilirubin.