Research on Touch

Massage Therapy Research on Preterm Infants

Preterm Newborns Gain More Weight

• Preterm infants gained 47% more weight, became more socially responsive(Field, T., Schanberg, S. M., Scafidi, F., Bauer, C. R., Vega-Lahr, N., Garcia, R., Nystrom, J., & Kuhn, C. M. (1986).
• Preterm infants gained more weight following as few as 5 days of massage therapy. (Dieter, J., Field, T., Hernandez-Reif, M., Emory, E and Redzepi, M. (2003).
• Preterm Infants received tactile/kinesthetic stimulation over a 10-day period. The infants averaged 21% greater weight gain per day and spent more time awake and active during sleep/wake behavior observations.(Scafidi, F., Field, T., Schanberg, S., Bauer, C, Tucci, K., Roberts, J., Morrow, C., & Kuhn, C.M. (1990).
• Preterm infants received three daily 15-minute massages for 10 days. The massage therapy infants gained significantly more weight per day than did the control infants. (Scafidi, F., Field, T., & Schanberg, S. (1993).

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