Influence of Massage Therapy with Preterm Infants.
Many studies have reported that premature birth is associated with neurodevelopment impairment over the last half century. Early postnatal difficulties have had problems with autonomic nervous system control, behavioral state organization, and attention. Problems during infancy and early childhood have included auditory and visual deficits, as well as delays in cross-modal transformations and sensorimotor integration. Motor deficits are a problem too, such as abnormal reflexes, diminished sucking, hypotonia, impaired postural control, impaired gross motor coordination, inferior hand use, and difficulties with language acquisition. Adolescence problems have included neuropsychological deficits, such as lower IQ's, poorer auditory discrimination, impaired articulation and diminished word fluency, attention-deficit disorders, and learning disabilities. Many forms of supplemental stimulation have been provided for hospitalized preterm infants to make a better environment in the neonatal intensive care unit and accelerate development. One of the most widely studied interventions has been massage therapy. The goal of the study was to examine the effects of five days of massage therapy on the weight gain and sleep/awake behavior of preterm infants.
Method.
The infants who participated were from a large inner-city hospital. They were only able to participate if their gestational age was between 25 and 34 weeks, their birth weight was between 750 and 1600 grams, and their birth weight was correct for their gestational age. Infants were not studied if they had genetic anomalies, congenital heart malformations, or central nervous system dysfunction. They were also excluded if they were HIV-positive, had a history of maternal drug use, required surgery, were breast fed, or had any evidence of intraventricular hemorrhage on ultrasound examinations.
