Home Phototherapy for Term Newborns With Icterus
Home Phototherapy for Term Newborns With Icterus
The study is designed as a randomised controlled multicenter study.The primary aim is to
 investigate if home phototherapy improves parent-child bonding compared to if treatment is
 performed at the hospital. The investigators will also istudy how home phototherapy is
 perceived by the parents, impact on breastfeeding and parents stress levels, if the method
 can be implemented etc.

 Patients are included at 5 hospitals in Sweden. The plan is to include 250 term newborns with
 neonatal icterus at a level that needs phototherapy treatment.
Background: Almost half of all newborns develops jaundice, due to elevated levels of
 bilirubin. If levels are high phototherapy is needed to reduce the levels of bilirubin.
 Presently most children with neonatal jaundice in Sweden receives phototherapy admitted to
 hospital. There is fiberoptic equipment available that can be used at home to treat the
 newborns.

 Aim: Primary aim is to investigate if parent-child bonding is improved with home phototherapy
 compared to phototherapy performed at the hospital.

 Method:The study is designed as a randomised controlled multicenter study. Eligible parents
 and newborns are randomised to either treatment at home or at the hospital. Demographic data
 about the newborn such as for example apgar score, gender, time of birth etc are registered.
 At time of discharge parents answers questionnaires such as for example the Postpartum
 Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS), the Swedish
 Parenthood Stress Questionnaire etc. Parents experiences from home phototherapy will also be
 investigated through semistructured interviews.

 Parents will asked to answer questionnaires at the time of discharge as well as at 4-months
 after discharge.

 Analysis of data will be performed by using conventional parametric and non-parametric
 statistical methods.

 The results of the study will be reported as scientific articles and as part of a thesis.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Gestational age w36-42.

 -  Age of newborn 48 hours or more.

 -  Level of bilirubin 300-400 µmol/l

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Immunisation. Bilirubin >400 µmol/l. Asphyxia. Ongoing infection, weightloss > 10%,
 other severe disease, parents who don´t speak Swedish, parents that are not expected
 to be able to handle the home phototherapy equipment