Chariya Lokham. The effects of mother providing premature infant massage program on attachment and bonding between mothers and premature infants . Master's Degree(Public Health Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2003.
The effects of mother providing premature infant massage program on attachment and bonding between mothers and premature infants
Abstract:
The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to examine the effects of
mothers providing premature infant massage program on attachment bonding between
mothers and premature infants. The sample consisted of 31 premature infants with
gestation age of 28-32 weeks who attended The New Born Unit at Taksin Hospital,
Bangkok, Thailand, and their mothers. The premature infant massage program was
adapted from the Muthukumasawamy Baby Massage Methods and Procedures (1996,
26-35). The questionnaire of attachment and bonding between mothers and their
infants was partly applied from Laohapensang, P (1983), Bills (1980), and Rubin and
Kennell (1980) and partly constructed by the researcher. The observation of mothers’
and premature infants’ behavior of attachment and bonding during the premature
infant massage was adapted from a relationship program by Reiser (1981). Mothers
did the infant massage for 20 days during 1 April 2002 to 30 August 2002. Data were
collected by asking the mothers to answer the questionnaire on attachment and
bonding on the 2nd day after delivery, on the 1st day of starting the actual massage, on
the 10th day of starting the actual massage, and on the 20th day of starting the actual
massage. Data were collected by the researcher’s obsevation of mothers and premature
infants’ behavior of attachment and bonding during the infant massage on the 1stday,
on the 10thday, and on the 20thday. Data were analyzed by the Repeated Measures
ANOVA. The results indicated that of the mothers’ feelings of attachment and
bonding after the infant massage were higher than before the infant massage with
statistical significance (p < 0.001), the mothers’ behaviors of attachment and bonding
during the infant massage from the 1st to the 20th day were higher with statistical
significance (p < 0.001), and the premature infants behaviors of attachment and
bonding while receiving the infant massage from the 1st day to the 20th day were higer
with statistical significance (p < 0.001).
The results of the study led to a conclusion that the infant massage program
increased mothers’ feelings of attachment and bonding, increased mothers’ behaviors
of attachment and bonding, and increased premature infants’ behaviors of attachment
and bonding.