ABSTRACT
Introduction: There is a moderate or severe delay in growth and development of low birth weight infants so they need developmental interventions in addition to intensive medical care. In general, these are considered as a part of nursing care. One of these interventions is tactile- kinesthetic stimulation, which is tailored to the developmental level and tolerance of each infant. There are various methods to perform tactile- kinesthetic stimulations. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of superficial tactile- kinesthetic stimulation method on weight gain of low birth weight infants
Methods: This is a quasi-experimental; type of clinical trial study, which was conducted on 54 low birth weight infants in hospitals, selected by convenient sampling method. They were assigned to two groups of twenty-seven infants. One of the groups received superficial tactile- kinesthetic stimulation respectively. This group was compared with a control group receiving no stimulations. Criteria for inclusion in the study were: birth weight <2500g,age<18 days, breast-feeding, the Iranian race, absence of congenital heart malformation, pulmonary diseases, neuromuscular disorders, respiratory distress, sepsis, maternal addiction, NPO or intravenous feeding only and blood exchange. Data were collected through observations, interviews and measuring weight by special scales of infants weighing [seco] with an accuracy of +/-10 grams. Each infant in the treatment group received superficial tactile- kinesthetic stimulation for three 15-minute periods, 30-45 minutes after feeding in the morning, afternoon and evening for 10 consecutive days. Weight of infants was measured three times: in the beginning of the study, 5 days and 10 days after it on the same equipment and by the same observer. To data analysis t-test and paired t-test were used to compare weight gain within and between groups
Results: The groups did not differ significantly on matched variables. Means of weight gain within groups, before and after of the study were statistically different. Also a significant difference was found between two groups. The treatment group was significantly gaining weight better than control group
Discussion: These findings show that superficial tactile- kinesthetic stimulation enhances weight gain in low birth weight infants. The other studies reported similar findings. Thus, this method can decrease low birth weight infant's mortality and morbidity