الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Prematurity is the most common cause of death in the first month of life and the second leading cause of death after pneumonia in the children under 5 years. Premature neonates are born before full development of their body organs especially of the gastro-intestinal tract. Premature neonates GIT is not capable of functioning at optimum level needed to maintain extrauterine stability which may lead to intolerance. Feeding intolerance is common among premature neonates, and most of them have episodes that require either temporary discontinuation of feedings or delay in advancing feedings. Feeding intolerance is the predominant factor that affects growth of premature neonates .Failure to achieve adequate extra- uterine growth is a common phenomenon among premature neonates as they are faced with multiple challenges and obstacles on their path to continued growth .It has been demonstrated that growth depends on mainly the capability of the GIT to allow adequate nutrition .Therefore, touch therapy concept and abdominal massage have been used lately for enhancement of gastric emptying and increasing the capability of the GIT among premature neonates. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of abdominal massage therapy on feeding tolerance of premature neonates. The study was conducted at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Tanta University Hospital. A convenience sampling of 60 premature neonates who fulfilled the following criteria comprised the study subjects: Birth weight ranging from 1000 to less than 2500 gram. Summary 94 Gestational age < 37 weeks. Premature neonates who started enteral feeding. Free from congenital anomalies and neurological problems which might interfere with abdominal massage therapy. Not attached to mechanical ventilator. Premature neonates were assigned into three groups. Each group comprised of 20 premature neonates. Control group received routine hospital care. First Study group before feeding received abdominal massage therapy before half hour of feeding in addition to routine care of the NICU. Second Study group after feeding received abdominal massage therapy after one hour of feeding in addition to routine care of the NICU. Three tools were used to collect necessary data .They were developed by the researcher after thorough review of related literature. The first one was Bio-socio-demographic Data which include demographic data and clinical features of premature neonates. The second tool was Nutritional Assessment of Premature Neonate that include feeding pattern and tolerance criteria of premature neonates. The third tool was Anthropometric Measures sheet which include daily measurements of weight and weekly measurements of length, chest and mid-arm circumference and also growth percentile chart of weight from birth until premature neonates reached to full feeding and complete first month of age.