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Breast Milk Application as a Natural Method for Umbilical Cord Care: A Community-Label 3-Arm Pilot Clinical Trial
Bekalu Kassie Alemu1,2, Leltework Yismaw Wondimagegn3, Yibelu Bazezew1
1Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos 269, Ethiopia.
Objective:
To compare the effects of human breast milk with those of chlorhexidine and the dry method on umbilical cord separation in Ethiopia.
Methods:
This open-label 3-arm nonrandomized pilot clinical trial was conducted among 45 neonates (15 in each arm) with more than 630 home visits. After a standard cord cut, human breast milk, chlorhexidine, or nothing was applied once per day for 7 days. The primary outcome was the duration of cord separation, while the secondary outcomes were umbilical cord infection, neonatal fever, jaundice, feeding and breathing difficulty, and persistent crying.
Results:
There were statistically significant differences in the time-to-cord separation between the human breast milk group and the chlorhexidine (P < 0.001) and dry alone (P = 0.038) groups. Compared to those of chlorhexidine, the rates of cord separation among human breast milk and the dry-alone group were 16.02, with 95% confidence intervals (3.81, 37.43; P < 0.001) and 3.15 (0.99, 10.00; P = 0.052), respectively. One (6.7%) cord site infection was observed in the dry-alone groups only.
Conclusion:
This community-label study indicated that human breast milk application significantly shortened the length of umbilical cord separation time compared to chlorhexidine and dry methods. A large-scale randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm these results.
Registration:
PACTR202310902873290; https://pactr.samrc.ac.za.
