Effects of handling on the subsequent developments of premature infants.

Abstract

The immediate and subsequent effects of handling on the behavioral and physical development of 10 low birth weight infants were studied. The 5 experimental infants were stroked in their isolettes 5 minutes every hour of the day, for 10 days, while the 5 controls were provided with routine nursery care. The handled infants were more active, regained initial birth weights faster and were described as physically healthier in terms of growth and motor development than the controls. Home ratings of intensity and variety of stimulation were also higher for the handled infants at between 7 and 8 months of age.

Análise comportamental de recém-nascidos pré-termos incluídos em um programa de estimulação tátil-cinestésica durante a internação hospitalar

“…In the analysis of the groups' interval subdivision, the stimulated group showed balanced tonus, coordinated movement in the three intervals, prevalence of mixed postures in interval I and flexed postures in interval II, whereas the CG exhibited significant hypotonia in intervals I and II. These results for the group total and the chronological age intervals agree with other studies that also found more mature patterns among the stimulated infants and hypotonia and extended posture among the control PTNBs 11,12 . Due to the immaturity of the neuromotor system, the PTNB's muscular tonus can be naturally lower after birth, following distinct periods of myelination of the descending motor tracts and cephalocaudal development.…”

“…The majority of studies demonstrated improvement in the clinical measures related to weight gain and a reduction in the length of hospital stay 8,9,11,[21][22][23][24] . The results of the present study point to a tendency for reduction in the length of hospital stay and for an increase in daily weight gain for the PTNBs of the stimulated group, but without statistical significance.…”

“…In one of the studies, the authors verified the effect of tactile stimulation on the development of five PTNBs with low birth weight. The children who received tactile stimulation were more active, had quicker weight gain and were physically healthier in terms of growth and motor development 11 . Extremely PTNBs who received tactile-kinesthetic stimulation for 15 minutes, three times a day, for ten consecutive days, showed greater weight gain, longer periods of alertness and more mature patterns in the motor, habituation and orientation clusters of the Brazelton assessment scale.…”

Effects of Rocking on Neuromuscular Development in the Premature

“…The results of this study confirm and ex pand the findings of previous studies using motion stimulation as a form of therapy [29][30][31][32][33]. The stimulus was designed to concen trate its effects on the horizontal semicircu lar canals, but the incubator conditions ne cessitated that other sensory modalities were unavoidably involved.…”

Preterm infants show reduced stress behaviors and activity after 5 days of massage therapy

“…A review of the preterm infant literature revealed mixed findings, with some infants showing greater activity with massage and others showing no change in activity (Barnard & Bee, 1983;Scafidi, Field, Schanberg, Bauer, Vega-Lahr, Garcia, Poirier, Nystrom & Kuhn, 1986;Solkoff, Yaffe, Weintraub & Blasé, 1969). The mixed findings may be attributed to different timing periods (pre, during, post massage) or different methodologies for reporting activity.…”