The effects of a tactile stimulation/range-finding programme on the development of very low birth weight infants during initial hospitalization.

During 1984 and 1985, after their referral to the intermediate care nursery, 51 healthy very low birth weight infants were subjected to a tactile stimulation programme imitating the spatial limitation which occurs towards the end of gestation. The sensory motor development of the study group was compared with the development of a control group during initial hospitalization. The study and control group differed significantly in the neonatal period after completion of the programme. The study group showed better auditive responses (P less than 0.02), more variations in hand movements (P less than 0.01), less hypotony (P less than 0.02), more sucking (P less than 0.02), and less bradycardia and apnoea (P less than 0.01).