Abstract

FREITAS, Otília Maria da Silva; LOPES, Emanuel Ponciano Moreira; FIGUEIREDO, Maria do Céu Aguiar Barbiéri de  and  CUNHA, Octávio Luís Pais Ribeiro da. Effects of massage on weight gain in preterm neonates. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2010, vol.serIII, n.1, pp.39-52. ISSN 0874-0283.

This quasi-experimental quantitative study, with pre-test and post test and a homogeneous control group, evaluated the effects of massage on the weight of preterm neonates hospitalized in neonatal intermediate care units. The sample consisted of 32 clinically stable and healthy preterm neonates, hospitalized in Portuguese intermediate neonatal care units. The preterm neonates were randomly allocated to two groups - control and experimental - with each group having an equal number of 16; there were no statistically significant differences between the groups on several baseline variables and thus they formed equivalent groups. The experimental group had an average of 30,11 weeks of gestation and weighed 1,326Kg at birth, and spent 20,44 days hospitalized in the intermediate care unit. The control group had an average of 30,94 weeks of gestation, weighed 1,400Kg at birth and spent 17,81 days hospitalized in the intermediate care unit. During the study, both groups received the same pattern of neonatal care, except that the experimental group received the massage. The massage was that of Field, used in Touch Research Institute, and was administered over five consecutive days in three daily periods. To evaluate the effect of the massage on weight gain, the preterm neonates were weighed daily in the same conditions, and it was demonstrated that those who had been massaged had an average daily weight gain 45% superior to that of the control group.

Keywords : massage; neonate; preterm; weight gain.

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