Thesis--Columbia University. / Bibliography: leaves 185-193.

Thesis--New York University. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-55).

Thesis--Univ. of Michigan. / Bibliography: leaves 106-112.

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

No description available.

The effects of perinatal risk and gestational age on sensory responsiveness and the ability to habituate were evaluated in three groups of preterm newborns designated as at high-, moderate-, and low-risk for developmental disability. Two major hypotheses were investigated: 1) that preterm infants have an elevated sensory threshold leaving them relatively unavailable to stimulation and 2) that once the preterm is stimulated sufficiently to respond, he/she is largely unable to habituate to repeated stimulus presentations. Additionally, the reliability of responsiveness and habituation over a 24-hour period was assessed.

Problem: Identifying the factors effecting birth transition success of late preterm infants may improve early recognition of newborn compromise. Multiple explanatory variables may be associated with birth transition success or failure. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of, and clinical-epidemiological and demographic predictive factors for birth transition success of late preterm infants. Methods: A retrospective case-control chart review was used to compare the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful birth transition of 35 and 36 week gestational age late-preterm infants delivered in a large tertiary-care center during calendar year 2007. A mixture of categorical and numeric variables related to maternal, birth, and physiologic constructs were analyzed for their effects on birth transition as a binary outcome variable (success or failure). Results: Of 22 variables tested, four predictor variables were associated with birth transition failure: labor (OR = .42, p = .014), 5-minute Apgar score (OR = 1.79, p = .043), gender (OR = .47, p =.003), and respiratory rate (OR= 2.08, p = .001) as tested by logistic regression. The model was able to accurately assign transition failure and success at a rate of 66.7% and 74% respectively. The overall model was statistically significant (likelihood ratio chi square = 38.97(4), p

The purpose of this study was to assess if preterm infants receiving an intervention of intermittent human tactile contact would demonstrate clinical improvement over infants who did not receive the intervention. A quasi-experimental design was used with 26 infants between 28 and 32 weeks gestation. Hands were placed on the infants' heads and lower backs for a total of 36 minutes of tactile contact a day for 10 days. Findings indicated a significant gain in mean body weight for both groups between Day 0 and Day 10. Also, there was a significant decrease in mean hematocrit in the control group between Day 0 and Day 10. On Day 10, experimental infants had a significantly higher mean number of apneic and bradycardic episodes than control infants. There were no significant mean differences between the groups for body weight, body temperature stability, oxygen variance, or hematocrit. Data suggest that gentle human touch may be correlated with desireable outcomes. Further research is necessary.

Human milk fortification is recommended to meet the nutritional requirements of preterm infants. Most human milk fortifiers (HMFs) contain non-protein energy (NPE) predominantly as carbohydrate which may lead to high fat deposition relative to lean mass accretion. We hypothesized that fortifying human milk with a HMF containing NPE predominantly as fat (fatHMF) would result in a higher (1) lean mass accretion (percent lean mass) and (2) growth (anthropometry), compared to fortifying with an isocaloric, isonitrogenous HMF containing NPE predominantly as carbohydrate (carbHMF). In a double-blind randomized trial, 29 infants (≤32 weeks and appropriate for gestational age) admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit received either mother's milk fortified with the fatHMF (n = 14) or the carbHMF (n = 15). Body composition and growth measurements were performed at Baseline (at ≤10% of goal intake 150 ml/kg), Phase 1, and Phase 2 (3 weeks and 6 weeks, respectively, from starting HMF). Although neither percent lean (fat) mass nor growth were statistically different, by Phase 2 infants receiving fatHMF showed a 63% increase in percent fat mass, gained 1194 g in weight and 8.8 cm in length, whereas the carbHMF showed a 96% increase in percent fat mass, gained 1005 g in weight and 6.9 cm in length (p = 0.3586, 0.3815, and 0.1851 respectively). By Phase 2, the fatHMF infants gained 128 g in absolute dry lean tissue, whereas the carbHMF infants gained 99 g (p = 0.0362, Post hoc analysis). Differences of this magnitude are clinically important, but a larger study is required to demonstrate statistical significance.