EFFECTS OF OIL MASSAGE THERAPY ON ANTHROPOMETRIC PARAMETERS AND BEHAVIORAL STATE OF STABLE LOW BIRTH WEIGHT NEONATES

Admission of low birth weight (LBW) neonates in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) causes their deprivation of tactile and sensory stimulation. The exciting benefits of Oil massage therapy (OMT) encourage the researcher to conduct it as an essential and integrated part of the daily nursing care for the medically stable neonates therefore, the study aimed to investigate the effect of oil massage therapy on anthropometric parameters and behavioral state of stable LBW neonates. Oil massage therapy (OMT) is a natural way for the caregivers to improve neonatal health, anthropometric parameters, and sleep patterns. A quasi- experimental design was selected for this study, a purposive sample composed of sixty LBW neonates their weight less than 2500 grams selected from the NICU of El Manial University Hospital - Cairo University- Egypt. LBW neonates in the control group received routine nursing care, while LBW neonates in the intervention group received OMT for one session, 15 minute per day for 10 consecutive days, in addition to routine care. Anthropometric parameters, behavioral state, and hospital stay were compared between the two groups. The intervention group gained significantly more total mean weight gain (254.70± 29.16g) compared with the control group (110.20± 50.98g) after the study period. Neonatal OMT might be used as an effective, natural, and safe non-medical intervention for increasing anthropometric parameters and improving behavioral state of LBW neonates.