The Effect of Touch on Weight Gain of Preterm Infants

one of the main criterion in developing a society is neonatal mortality rate. Weight is the most sensitive growth criterion and one way to survey health is to measure it. To examine the effect of touch intervention on the weight gain of preterm infants who were admitted in NICU of Imam Reza and Qaem hospitals in Mashhad. This study was done on 40 stable preterm infants. Touch intervention (consist of strocking/ passive limb movement for three 15 – minute periods per day for a 10 days) was provided to 20 preterm infants (mean gestational age, 31.3 weeks mean birth weight, 1299g).And the weight gain were compared a group of 20 control infants (mean gestational age, 30.9 weeks mean birth weight, 1321g).` over the 10 – day study period, the treatment groups gained significantly more weight compared to the control group (P <0.001). These data suggest that strocking / passive limb movement can be a cost effective way of faciliating growth in stable preterm infants.