Table 2.
Newborns’ characteristics (n = 366)
| Characteristics | n | Categories | Total | Singletons (n = 241) | Twins (n = 125) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No practice group | Practice group | p-value | No practice group | Practice group | p-value | ||||
| Mean ± SD Median [Min, Max] or n (%) |
Mean ± SD Median [Min, Max] or n (%) |
Mean ± SD Median [Min, Max] or n (%) |
Mean ± SD Median [Min, Max] or n (%) |
Mean ± SD Median [Min, Max] or n (%) |
|||||
| Birth order | 362 | 1st | 239 (66.0) | 76 (58.9) | 68 (60.7) | 0.99§ | 55 (73.3) | 40 (86.9) | 0.031§ |
| 2nd | 92 (25.4) | 38 (29.5) | 31 (27.7) | 19 (25.3) | 4 (8.7) | ||||
| ≥3rd | 31 (8.6) | 15 (11.6) | 13 (11.6) | 1 (1.4) | 2 (4.4) | ||||
| Sex | 366 | Male | 199 (54.4) | 77 (59.7) | 55 (49.1) | 0.01‡ | 41 (53.3) | 26 (54.2) | 0.92‡ |
| Female | 167 (45.6) | 52 (40.3) | 57 (50.9) | 36 (46.7) | 22 (45.8) | ||||
| Weight (kg) | 366 | 2.98 [1.63, 4.72] | 3.17 [1.93, 4.72] | 3.31 [2.05, 4.14] | 0.018† | 2.57 [1.63, 3.48] | 2.56 [2.03, 3.18] | 0.198† | |
| Age at discharge (hours) | 366 | 271.9 [232.5, 325] | 276 [232.5, 315] | 277.95 [248, 325] | 0.675† | 263.9 [244, 274.9] | 264.85 [247.7, 282] | 0.128† | |
| Gestational period (weeks) |
365 | <36 | 36 (9.8) | 9 (7.0) | 1 (0.9) | 0.059‡ | 22 (28.6) | 4 (8.3) | 0.018‡ |
| 36–37 | 98 (26.7) | 22 (17.0) | 13 (11.7) | 33 (42.8) | 30 (62.5) | ||||
| 38–39 | 166 (45.8) | 66 (51.2) | 64 (57.6) | 22 (28.6) | 14 (29.2) | ||||
| >40 | 65 (17.7) | 32 (24.8) | 33 (29.7) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | ||||
| Apgar score | 365 | <6 | 8 (2.2) | 5 (3.9) | 2 (1.8) | <0.001§ | 1 (1.3) | 0 (0.00) | 0.789§ |
| (after 5 min) | 6–8 | 80 (21.9) | 48 (37.2) | 5 (4.5) | 18 (23.7) | 9 (18.7) | |||
| >9 | 277 (75.9) | 76 (58.9) | 105 (93.7) | 57 (75.0) | 39 (81.3) | ||||
| Health status | 350 | Abnormal | 29 (8.3) | 17 (15.0) | 3 (2.7) | 0.001‡ | 6 (7.8) | 3 (6.2) | 0.999§ |
| Normal | 321 (91.7) | 96 (85.0) | 109 (97.3) | 71 (92.2) | 45 (93.8) | ||||
| Rooting reflex | 344 | Good | 329 (95.6) | 105 (87.5) | 112 (48.27) | 65 (100) | 47 (100) | ||
| Moderate | 15 (4.4) | 14 (11.7) | 0 (0.00) | <0.001§ | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | - | ||
| Bad | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | ||||
| Sucking reflex | 345 | Good | 330 (95.7) | 105 (87.5) | 112 (100) | 65 (100) | 48 (100) | ||
| Moderate | 14 (4.0) | 14 (11.7) | 0 (0.00) | <0.001§ | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | - | ||
| Bad | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.8) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | 0 (0.00) | ||||
Independent t-test, †Mann–Whitney U test, ‡chi-square test, §Fisher’s exact test. Practice group: Breastfed throughout the hospital stay, No practice group: Not breastfed throughout the hospital stay