Impact of Kangaroo mother care plus massage therapy on growth of preterm low birth weight infants at discharge

Background: To assess the impact of kangaroo mother care plus massage therapy on growth of preterm low birth weight infants at discharge. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in Department of Neonatology in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University over a period of 15 months from March 2022 to June 2023. Total 122 newborns were admitted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of BSMMU during the study period with birth weight 800g to <2000g and gestational age 28 weeks to <34 weeks were enrolled in the study after getting informed written consent from parents or caregiver. Infants with major congenital anomalies were excluded from this study. All data were analyzed by statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25 (IBM, USA). Results: Total 122 newborns were admitted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of BSMMU during the study period with birth weight 800g to <2000 g. Among them, 80 infants fulfilled inclusion criteria. Growth was significantly better in KMC plus massage therapy group. Mean weight gain per kg per day in KMC plus massage therapy group was 13.34±10.20 g and it was nearly half in KMC group 6.18±11.84 g only (p-value-0.01). Increase in length was 0.95±0.62 cm in KMC plus massage therapy group vs KMC group 0.66±0.49 cm (p-value-0.04). Increase in OFC was 0.59±0.29 cm in KMC plus massage therapy group vs KMC group 0.42±0.33 cm at discharge (p-value-0.03). Hospital stay in KMC group was 6.36±3.52 days, alternatively it was more 8.33±2.39 days in KMC plus massage therapy group. The dissimilarity was statistically significant (p-value-0.01) Study implication: Massage therapy potentiates benefits of kangaroo mother care in respect to better growth, so massage can be added along with KMC for better outcome. Conclusions: Massage therapy added to KMC is more effective than KMC alone in improving growth, although it did not affect the hospital stay.