607 - Literacy Promotion in the Newborn Nursery for Low-Income, Firstborn Infants: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Poster Number: 607

Adrienne E. Hoyt-Austin, University of California Davis Children's Hospital, Sacramento, CA, United States; Jessica Cheng, University of California Davis Children's Hospital, West Sacramento, CA, United States; Caroline J. Chantry, UC Davis Health, Sacramento, CA, United States; Daniel J. Tancredi, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States; Hana Moua, Uc davis, Sacramento, CA, United States; Laura R. Kair, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States

Background: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends reading aloud to children from infancy to promote early language skills. However, promotion of reading typically occurs in the medical home starting at the 6-month visit. Studies of the effect of recommendation of reading prior to birth hospitalization discharge on shared reading behaviors are limited.

Objective: To determine the effect of giving low-income, first-time mothers a children’s book and a library flier prior to birth hospitalization discharge on shared reading with the infant at 12 weeks.

Design/Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing the receipt of a children’s book and information about reading with the newborn vs. receipt of a manual breast pump and instructions for its use on rates of joining the local library. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03192241). Shared reading with baby in the last 24 hours and last week at 12 weeks of age was a pre-specified secondary outcome for the trial.

Results: Sixty participants were randomized to intervention (manual breast pump) and attention control (book) groups, and 59 contributed data to the study. Participants who received the book trended towards greater odds of reading with the baby at 12 weeks postpartum within the prior 24 hours (OR 2.4, 95% CI 0.48-12.13) and the prior week (OR 4.66, 95% CI 0.46-47.63) than participants who received the breast pump.Conclusion(s): Literacy promotion interventions during the newborn nursery have the potential to impact early shared reading behaviors for low-income families with their first infant. Further research with a larger sample size across diverse birth hospital settings and with developmental outcome assessments are needed.
Table 1Participant Demographic and Clinical Characteristics (Nf59)