Effect of abdomen massage for prevention of feeding intolerance in preterm infants

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.