Assessment of the Nutritional Status of Babies with Neonatal Jaundice in Ghana

Neonatal jaundice is a public health concern responsible for a relatively high rate of infant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is prudent to put in place effective risk-reduction strategies and detect and treat new born jaundice effectively. Optimum nutrition has been shown to be crucial to health and well-being. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the nutritional status of babies that report to three referral hospitals in Ghana (Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the Tamale Teaching hospital). It was a multi-center nested, case-control study involving 120 cases and 120 controls of neonates in the three referral hospitals in Ghana. The study revealed that babies with neonatal jaundice in Ghana mostly have a normal nutritional status, even though they lose about 5% of their birth weight. More mothers of healthy babies (88.3%) did exclusive breastfeeding, compared with mothers of babies with neonatal jaundice (76.7%). It was also revealed that the three referral hospitals implemented the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative’s ten steps to successful breastfeeding as a measure to prevent suboptimal feeding, which could lead to an increase in bilirubin levels. Assessment and interventions to prevent weight loss should therefore be paramount for babies with neonatal jaundice.