Outcomes of developmental care in an Australian neonatal intensive care nursery.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the outcomes of implementation of a developmental care model in an Australian tertiary NICU.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective chart audit was used to determine the differences between predevelopmental and developmental care outcomes for infants, parents, the unit, and nursing.

SAMPLE

Two subsets of infants were selected for comparison: one of infants receiving predevelopmental care (n = 42) and another of infants receiving developmental care (n = 42).

RESULTS

Infants receiving developmental care required less time on total parenteral nutrition, required less exogenous surfactant, and had less documented feeding intolerance. Changes were observed in ambience and in the use of space for providing parent-infant care. Also observed was the individualized expertise of nursing staff and of parents.