Frequency of handling / nursing care harm ...

[justjenny]

I have been *trying* to research what possible effects our nursing care can have on preemies 23-32 weeks of age.

I requested a library search at my hospital and received NO RELEVANT articles...so either they misunderstood my request or there is not much in the way of CURRENT research on this topic.

Previous threads have discussed the frequency of "hands on" and it has varied widely for the very sick, very small preemies (anywhere from Q2-4 to Q12) ...the growers and feeders all appear to be the same or similar (Q3 or Q4)

Yes, I understand the risks with ELBW and VLBW infants...not being able to rest due to frequent handling, risk of IVH, etc. but I wanted some books/articles to read to provide a better understanding of the topics.

Specifically, my search for info is related to:

Born 32 weeks or less and:

--Effects of handling and frequency of handling on development/length of hospital stay/recommendations for handling

--any study or research relating overstimulation with A's and B's

--any study or research relating gavage feedings with handling

So far - NADA - nothing. If anyone can direct me to articles/resources on any of the above topics I would appreciate it! I am starting to believe that there really isn't any recent evidence with guidelines and or recommendations for these items....but simply that nurses do what their unit policies tell them to without knowing the evidence based practice behind it. ????

Thanks for any info - just a new RN trying to learn how to best care for "my" babies!

Jenny

[danissa, LPN, LVN]

did you try a google search or look on pubmed. I have found loads of articles,(lots free through link-out), in pub med on developmental care. one related link often leads you to another, before you know it you've lost two hours, but are so into it!!