Shortened hospital stay for low-birth-weight infants: nuts and bolts of a nursing intervention project.

Prolonged hospitalization of low-birth-weight (LBW) newborns places them at increased risk for a number of medical and psychosocial complications. A randomized trial of earlier hospital discharge with community-based nursing follow-up and intervention was performed. Community-based, in-home, public-health nursing and homemaker services were provided on an individualized basis according to assessed need. A significantly higher number of nurse home visits and telephone contacts were made to the intervention families. One of the most identified needs of families of LBW infants was assistance with breastfeeding. More than half of the early discharge families needed and received homemaker assistance during the first 8 weeks after the newborn's discharge from hospital. Results showed that a community-based program that provided individualized support and education for families of LBW infants was safe, cost-effective, and had a positive influence on the home environment.