Effects of infant touch on growth-related indexes of preterm infants

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effects of infant touch on the growth and development of preterm infants.

Methodology: This was a retrospective study. Sixty-four preterm infants admitted to Maternity & Child Care Center of Qinhuangdao from June 2022 to May 2023 were recruited as study subjects and randomly assigned into two groups: the control group (n=32) and the observation group (n=32). The preterm infants in the control group received conventional monitoring measures, while those in the observation group received additional infant touch twice a day for 20min each time for 2 months on top of the control group. Physical development indexes, behavioral development indexes and sleep quality indexes of preterm infants at day 60 were statistically compared. The physical development, behavioral development and sleep quality indexes of preterm infants 60 days after birth were statistically compared.

Results: At day 60 of life, the weight and height of the preterm infants in the observation group were markedly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), their levels of muscular, visual, linguistic and emotional development were significantly better than those in the control group (P<0.05) and their frequency of nocturnal awakenings and crying duration were notably lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, infant touch showed no significant effect on head circumference, hearing and sleep quality of preterm infants at day 60 of life (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Infant touch boasts of promoting the growth and development of preterm infants in the early stages of life in multiple ways, such as promoting their weight and height growth, accelerating the process of behavioral development such as muscle, vision, language and emotion and enhancing their sleep quality.