ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of gravity feeding combined with abdominal massage on feeding tolerance, digestive function, and growth in low birth weight premature infants (LBWPI). MethodsA total of 150 LBWPI born in the Department of Neonatology, Nansha District Central Hospital Guangzhou First People′s Hospital, were selected as the research subjects, and they were randomly divided into a control group or a research group, with 75 cases in each group. The control group received conventional intermittent nasal feeding, the research group received gravity feeding combined with abdominal massage, and both groups were intervened continuously for 4 weeks. The incidence of feeding intolerance (FI), digestive function, growth indexes, time to regain birth weight, retention time of gastric tube, and hospital stay were compared between the two groups. ResultsDuring the intervention, the incidence of FI in the research group was lower than that in the control group, the daily defecation frequency and daily defecation amount were more than those of the control group, and the meconium exhaustion time, daily gastric retention amount, and time to complete gastrointestinal feeding were shorter/less than those of the control group (all P＜0.05). The increases in body weight, body length, and head circumference from birth to the 14th day after birth in the research group were larger than those in the control group, while the time to regain birth weight, retention time of gastric tube, and hospital stay of the research group were shorter than those of the control group (all P＜0.05). ConclusionGravity feeding combined with abdominal massage can reduce the incidence of FI, promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function, improve growth, and shorten the retention time of gastric tube and hospital stay for LBWPI.

无