Effect of night and day on preterm infants in a newborn nursery: randomised trial.

Abstract

The effect of alternating night and day on sleep, feeding, and weight gain in 41 healthy preterm infants was examined in a randomised controlled trial. Twenty infants from a night and day nursery, where the intensity of light and noise was reduced between 7 pm and 7 am, spent longer sleeping and less time feeding and gained more weight than 21 infants from a control nursery, where the intensity of light and noise was not reduced. Differences were significant and became apparent only after discharge home; they were still present three months after the expected date of delivery, when infants from the night and day nursery were an average of 05 kg heavier (p<0-02).These findings suggest that physical environment has an effect (either direct or indirect) on the subsequent behaviour of preterm infants and that exposure to night and day is beneficial.

The Effects of Creating an Artificial Night on the Pattern of Weight Gain Among Preterm Neonates

“…In the cyclical lighting group, the means of neonates' weight at weeks six and twelve were significantly higher than the continuous lighting group. Besides, post-discharge weight of the neonates in the cyclical lighting group was by 0.5 Kg greater than the neonates in the continuous lighting group (14). The study by Mann et al (1986) was similar to the present study in terms of the type of interventions and the length of each 24-hour lighting course.…”

“…Besides, post-discharge weight of the neonates in the cyclical lighting group was by 0.5 Kg greater than the neonates in the continuous lighting group (14). The study by Mann et al (1986) was similar to the present study in terms of the type of interventions and the length of each 24-hour lighting course. Nevertheless, neonates' weight gain in their study was greater than ours.…”

“…In another study, Mann et al (1986) investigated the effect of cyclical day and night lighting and continuous lighting on neonates' weight gain pattern, and reported a significant difference between these two lighting interventions. It is important to mention that this difference was observed only after hospital discharge.…”

The development of potentially better practices to support the neurodevelopment of infants in the NICU

“…415 Using actigraphy as a measurement of rest-activity patterns, infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation and exposed to low intensity (200 lux) cycled lighting between 32 to 34 weeks postmenstrual age demonstrated light entrainment of circadian rhythms as early as 37 weeks postmenstrual age. 416 When compared with infants in continuous lighting, babies in cycled lighting slept more, spent less time feeding and gained more weight, 417 and during the darker periods, had lower activity levels and more stable respiratory rates, 418 as well as increased sleep states and decreased cortisol levels. 419 When lighting was reduced at night, weight gain, ventilator days, length of stay and scores on the Brazelton motor cluster were improved at the time of discharge.…”

The Participation Rights of Premature Babies

“…The baby's gaze promotes parents' affection, "launching both partners on their path of complex affective and cognitive interchange, fuelling mutual competence" (Als, 1999:31). Babies have fewer disruptions to their breathing and heart rate and fewer startle reactions when noise is managed with appropriate acoustic design and the staff work quietly (Mann et al, 1986;Philbin et al, 1999). If premature babies lie supine with their limbs outspread, it is harder for them to do their main tasks: to breathe, to conserve energy, to sleep, and therefore to be able to feed and grow.…”