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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Use of neonatal boundaries to improve outcomes
1University of Missouri at Kansas City, USA.
Insights
A cloth nest intervention did not improve weight gain or shorten hospital stays for high-risk infants. Routine care, potentially involving more touch, may be more beneficial for neonatal development.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Infant health
Background:
- Technological advancements increase survival rates for high-risk infants.
- Immature organ systems and the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment contribute to developmental delays.
- The NICU environment may present challenges to optimal infant development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of an oval-shaped cloth nest on neonatal development.
- To determine if the cloth nest reduces environmental stress for infants.
- To test if the nest improves weight gain and reduces hospital length of stay.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 102 healthy infants (26-31 weeks gestation).
- Infants were allocated to either a cloth nest group or routine care group.
- Outcomes measured included weight gain and length of hospital stay.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in weight gain were observed between the groups.
- Infants in the cloth nest group experienced longer hospital stays compared to the routine care group.
- The study suggests increased touch in routine care might positively influence development.
Conclusions:
- The oval-shaped cloth nest did not enhance neonatal development as measured by weight gain or length of stay.
- Routine care, possibly due to increased tactile stimulation, may be more conducive to development in this population.
- Further research is needed to explore the role of tactile stimulation in NICU environments.
Abstract:
Technological advances have dramatically improved survival rates for the high-risk infant, yet developmental delays are common due to complications resulting from immature organ systems. The neonatal intensive care unit environment itself may pose barriers to optimal development of these infants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an oval-shaped cloth nest to make the environment less stressful and enhance neonatal development. Specifically, the study hypothesized that infants who were placed in the cloth nest would gain more weight and would have shorter lengths of hospital stay than would infants receiving routine care. A total of 102 healthy infants ranging from 26 to 31 weeks of gestation were recruited into the study. No significant differences were found in the groups on amount of weight gained. Infants who were placed in the cloth nest actually had longer hospital stays than did infants receiving routine care. Perhaps infants who received routine care received more touch than did nested infants, and the touch may have facilitated development as measured by length of stay.
