ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING AND THE LENGTH OF HOSPITAL STAY FOR NEWBORNS WITH NEONATAL SEPSIS AT A MATERNITY HOSPITAL IN MANAUS, AMAZONAS

Vollständiger Abstract

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Neonatal sepsis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period, especially among preterm and low-birth-weight infants. Care practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding, have been associated with reduced infections and improved clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between exclusive breastfeeding and length of hospital stay among newborns diagnosed with neonatal sepsis in a Kangaroo Care Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit at a maternity hospital in the state of Amazonas from 2022 to 2024, as well as to describe the frequency of Kangaroo Care implementation in the sample. This is a quantitative, retrospective, cross-sectional epidemiological study based on a review of 353 medical records, from which 132 records were selected as the final sample. The data were organized in Microsoft Excel® and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, with a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05), employing Pearson’s chi-square test, Student’s t-test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that 97.7% of the newborns were preterm, 68.2% were born via cesarean section, and 66.7% were exclusively breastfed on demand. The Kangaroo Care method was recorded in 59.8% of the cases. A higher proportion of hospital stays shorter than 14 days was observed among newborns who received exclusive breastfeeding (80.7%) compared to those who did not (45.5%), with a statistically significant association (χ²(2, N=132)=17.32; p