RESUMO
Research has proven that developmentally supportive care (DSC) improves the developmental outcomes for preterm infants. Available evidence regarding the similar effect of one of its principles; developmentally supportive positioning (DSP); was inconclusive; which lead to this study. The study was conducted in two phases: firstly; the Hennessy Stress Scale for the Preterm Infant was developed and; secondly; using a within-subject design; the effects of DSP n the stress levels of preterm infants were measured. Using the Hennessy Stress Scale for the Preterm Infant; observed qualitative data could be quantified to reflect the infant's stress levels as a percentage. Nonprobability sampling was used to select twenty-two preterm infants of gestational age 37 weeks. The stress levels of these infants; who were admitted to a specific neonatal intensive care unit and not sedated; were observed before and after the implementation of DSP; and were then quantified; and recorded. The pre-test (infants without DSP) and post-test (same infants with DSP) mean stress level scores were 29.07 vs. 16.87 (mean shift of 12.2 and standard deviation of 3.97); which were significantly different (p 0.0001; Student's paired t-test). The conclusion was that DSP significantly decreases premature infants' stress levels