Effect of Abdominal Massage on Feeding Intolerance and Weight of Preterm Neonates

Abstract

Feeding intolerance (FI) is one of the most common problems that occur among preterm which increase morbidity and mortality rate among them. Aim: To evaluate the effect of abdominal massage on feeding intolerance and weight of preterm neonates. Design: quasi experimental design. Setting: The study was conducted at Elgameyaa Elshreya Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Shebin EL Kom city and Elgameyaa Elshreya Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Ashmoon city /Menoufia Governorate. Sample: A purposive sample of 61preterm neonates were selected and randomly assigned into two groups, massage group include thirty three preterm and control groups include twenty-eight preterm neonate. Tool, one tool was used for data collection; it includes three parts, Part 1:Structured questionnaire was developed to collect characteristics and medical data of the preterm infants, Part 2: Feeding-intolerance criteria in the preterm infants, Part 3: Chart for daily weight of preterm neonate. Results: There was a highly statistically significant difference in the mean score of feeding intolerance between the 1 st and 5 th days, abdominal circumference was( 28.49±2.39 and 26.65±2.422), frequency of defecation was (0.515±0.71 and 2.61±0.83), frequency of vomiting (0.636±0.89and 0.06±0.35) and GVR(7.09±3.33 and 0.24±1.39) in the massage group, respectively. Also, the mean preterm infant weight in the massage was (1602.88±388.8 and 1640.06±393.96) on the 1 st and 5 th day respectively, with a highly statistically significant difference. conclusion: The abdominal massage had a positive influence on feeding tolerance indicators such as frequency of defecation, vomiting, abdominal distention, abdominal circumference, and GRV. The study recommended: Utilizing abdominal massage as a nursing care routine in enterally fed preterm neonates.