Authors
Abstract
Background and Purpose: The umbilical cord is one of the most important sites for bacterial colonization after birth. Different regimens have been used for umbilical neonatal cord care, some of which have established bad effects for neonates and may even delay its separation. This study is conducted to compare the effect of topical application of breast milk and dry cord care on cord separation time in neonates.
Methods and Materials: In a randomized clinical trial, 150 neonates with 38-42 weeks of gestational age, singleton and without congenital anomaly were randomly selected an assigned into two groups: Mother's milk for group 1, and dry cord care for group 2. All mothers in two groups received an instructed face-toface cord care education within 3 hours of birth. Group 1 applied breast milk to the umbilical stump 3 hours after birth and continued every 12 hours until 2 days after umbilical cord separation. Nothing was applied to the umbilical stump of the dry cord care group. Relevant data were analyzed in SPSS using two-way ANOVA, Chi-Square, Student’s t-test, Fisher’s exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, and General Linear Model.
Results: According to the results, statistical differences were observed in the cord separation time across the two groups; in the breast milk group, the cord separation time (152.42±48.804) was shorter than the corresponding time (175.57±59.57) in the dry cord care group.
Conclusion: The results indicated that topical application of breast milk for umbilical cord care leads to reduced cord separation time.
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