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Effect of abdomen massage for prevention of feeding intolerance in preterm infants
Insights
Abdominal massage improved feeding tolerance in preterm infants by reducing gastric residual volume and abdominal distension. This intervention is recommended for enterally fed infants to prevent complications.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pediatric gastroenterology
Background:
- Preterm infants often experience feeding intolerance.
- Minimal enteral nutrition is a common feeding strategy for these infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of abdominal massage in improving feeding tolerance.
- To evaluate the impact of abdominal massage on specific indicators of feeding tolerance in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental study with a control group was conducted.
- Abdominal massage was administered twice daily for 15 minutes before feeding over a 5-day period.
- Measurements included daily weight gain, vomiting frequency, abdominal circumference, gastric residual volume, and defecation frequency.
Main Results:
- While defecation frequency did not significantly change, the massage group showed significant improvements in daily weight gain, reduced vomiting, and decreased gastric residual volume.
- Abdominal circumference measurements also indicated significant positive changes in the massage group.
Conclusions:
- Abdominal massage is a beneficial intervention for enterally fed preterm infants.
- Nurses can utilize abdominal massage twice daily to prevent gastric residual volume excess and abdominal distension.
Background:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of abdominal massage on feeding tolerance in stable preterm infants fed minimal enteral nutrition.
Methods:
The study was conducted on a control-grouped pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design at the neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital in Turkey between March and July 2012. Abdominal massage was applied to the massage group subjects for 15 minutes, 2 times daily, before the subject was fed starting in the 5-day study period.
Results:
The study was conducted with 27 subjects, 14 in the massage group and 13 in the control group. When frequency of defecation measurements were analysed, the difference between the first day and last day of the study was not statistically significant in the massage group. However, when daily weight gain, frequency of vomiting, abdominal circumference and gastric residual volume excess measurements were analysed, the differences between the first day and last day of the study were statistically significant in the massage group.
Conclusions:
In accordance with the results of the study, we suggest that nurses should apply abdominal massage twice a day as an intervention helping to prevent gastric residual volume excess and abdominal distension in enterally fed preterm infants.
