Background: The prevalence of preterm birth in UAE has increased to around 10 per cent of all deliveries in the UAE. Preterm neonates are more prone to complications; achieving optimal weight is one of the factors that affect the length of hospital stay which is taking into consideration in the discharge of preterm infants from the hospital. Aim: To assess the effect of neonatal massage on the weight gain and physical responses among preterm neonates in Fujairah hospital. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental design in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Forty three neonates who met the inclusion criteria, were divided into two groups of experimental (n = 24) and control (n = 19) selected using consecutive sampling. Both groups received routine care, the experimental group received the massage for 15 minutes daily for 10 days, Results: Male neonates were (58.1%) than female (41.9%), the percentage birth weight in the control group was 1- 1.5kg (58.3%) while it was 1.5-2.0 kg (41.7%) in the experimental group. Neonatal massage showed a positive effect of 266.68 grams at the end of 10 days of study, the experimental group gained between 143.3g-266.67g (54.1%) while the control group gained between 20g-143.33g (15.7%), it significantly improved physical responses (Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate) with P value below (<0.05) level while there was no statistically significant differences in the temperature, oxygen saturation and body activity Conclusion: Neonatal massage has significant difference in weight gain, improved heart and respiratory rate while no significant effect in the temperature and oxygen saturation. The study recommends that, neonatal massage should form part of the routine care for preterm neonates to increase the weight and other responses which will shorten the length of stay in the hospital and prevent neonatal morbidity and mortality
Keywords: Massage, Weight, neonate preterm, physical responses
