Effect of Massage With Verbal Contact by Mothers of Premature Infants on Maternal Attachment and Infant's Motor Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background and Aims: An infant born before 37 weeks of gestation is called a preterm infant. In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), occupational therapists provide essential therapeutic interventions, including those for social-emotional development, the promotion of parent-infant attachment and interactions, and the developmental assessment of preterm infants. This research aimed to explore the effects of maternal massage training combined with verbal contact with preterm infants on maternal attachment and infant motor performance. Methods: 84 preterm infants in the NICU were assigned to intervention and control groups. The infants in the control group underwent standard interventions, while the mothers of the infants in the intervention group gave their babies a massage for 15 min daily over 5 days and talked to their babies during the massage. Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale (MPAS) and the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) were utilized for assessment and the data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Results: In both groups, MPAS and TIMP post-test scores increased compared to pre-test scores, although the increase in scores was significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (95% CI [−6.96, −1.73], p = 0.001% and 95% CI [−0.93, −0.14], p = 0.009, respectively). However, no statistically significant weight gain was observed in either the intervention or control groups (95% CI [−186.14, −129.14], p = 0.720). Conclusion: Massage along with verbal contact by mothers of premature infants enhances maternal attachment and the infants' motor performance, yet it does not significantly affect the infants' weight gain. Consequently, given the difficulties these babies and their caregivers encounter, massage and verbal contact may serve as a safe and economical approach.