| Study of 5 days of massage: While the two previously cited studies describe the effects of ten-day trials
of massage therapy, a subsequent study was performed to examine the effects of
five-day trials of massage therapy on the weight gain and sleep/wake behavior of
hospitalized stable preterm infants. The results were published by Dieter
et. al. in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2003.
In this study, massage therapy was provided for five days to preterm neonates and their
weight gain, formula intake, kilocalories, stooling, and sleep/wake behavior
were compared with a group of control infants of similar gestational age and
birth weight.
The study concluded that healthy, low-risk preterm infants averaged 53% greater daily weight gain and spent less time sleeping with just five days of massage, in contrast to 10 days in previous studies. These results support the continued use of massage as a cost-effective therapy for medically stable preterm infants.
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