The effect of massage on the bilirubin level in term infants receiving phototherapy

•Regular infant massage is effective in reducing total serum bilirubin levels in term newborns receiving phototherapy.•Massage increases daily stool output in term newborns receiving phototherapy.•Health professionals can easily apply massage to babies receiving phototherapy. Massage has positive physiological effects on infants. Infant massage increases the excretion of waste products such as bilirubin from the body by accelerating the flow of the blood, lymph, and tissue fluids. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of infant massage on hyperbilirubinemia in newborns receiving phototherapy. The study population consisted of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of a public hospital in Istanbul between October 2021 and January 2022 with a need for phototherapy. Sixty-one newborns who met the study criteria were randomized and divided into two as the experimental (n=30) and control (n=31) groups. All infants were followed up for 3 days, and phototherapy was applied twice a day. In addition to phototherapy, infant massage was applied to the experimental group for 10 min just before the phototherapy. The bilirubin level was measured 2 h after the end of phototherapy for both groups. Moreover, diapers were changed 8 times a day, every 3 h, in both groups. The groups were homogeneous in terms of descriptive data, and no significant difference was observed between the groups (p>0.05). When bilirubin levels were compared, there was a significant decrease in bilirubin levels in the experimental group starting from the third day (p =.000). The frequency of defecation on the second and third days increased significantly in the experimental group (p =.000). Infant massage can increase the frequency of defecation and help decrease bilirubin levels in newborns diagnosed with hyperbilirubinemia.