Effect of massage therapy on physical and physiological wellbeing of jaundiced neonates receiving phototherapy: A hospital based interventional study

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is one of the leading cause of admissions in nursery throughout the world. It affects approximately 2.4–15% of neonates during the first 2 weeks of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of massage therapy on physical and physiological wellbeing of jaundiced neonates receiving phototherapy. The total 40 samples were selected through purposive sampling technique from selected hospitals, out of which 20 were in experimental and 20 were in control group. The experimental group received massage therapy from the first day of phototherapy to three consecutive days twice a day, but the control group remained without this. The physical and physiological wellbeing of jaundiced neonates receiving phototherapy was assessed using structured follow up sheet. There was statistically significant difference in weight gain, sleeping pattern (p<0.05) and highly significant difference in serum bilirubin level (p=0.01) was found between the experimental and control group. Hence, Massage therapy is a natural way of improving the physical and physiological wellbeing among jaundiced neonates.