Massage Therapy for the Treatment of Neonatal Jaundice: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Neonatal jaundice is a common health problem seen in 60–80% of newborns. Electronic search in nine databases was done for randomized controlled trials. Twenty seven studies were eligible for quantitative analysis. For neonates requiring phototherapy (PT), in 3rd and 4th days of life, massage and phototherapy was more effective in reducing bilirubin, compared to phototherapy alone. However, this effect became insignificant in the 14th day of life. In contrast, massage with enema and phototherapy significantly reduced bilirubin at the age of 14 days. For neonates not requiring PT, the best reduction was observed with the acupressure massage between the 3rd and 7th days. In the 14th day, massage combined with bathing appears to be the most effective. Massage therapy could be an effective adjuvant to PT in order to reduce the PT duration. However, it did not reduce the requirement for PT.