The present study is a clinical randomized unblinded trial with the aim of investigating the effect of Massage therapy with sesame and sweet almond oils on weight gain of premature infants. The trial includes 60 infants hospitalized at the neonatal intensive care unit of Shohadaye Kargar and Shahid Sadoughi hospitals. The inclusion criteria are Iranian nationality, fetal age of 30-35 weeks, breast or dried milk feeding and a stable medical condition. The exclusion criteria includes Sepsis, convulsion, fetal disorders, dermal infection, congenital cardiac or digestive diseases, disease of nervous system, respiratory distress, surgery, Parenteral nutrition and starving at the time of intervention, parental discontent, discharge of the newborn before the intervention and sensitivity to almond and sesame oils.
The subjects will be assigned to massage therapy with either sesame or almond oil or the control group using random numbers table. Tools used for the sampling included demographic questionnaire and beurer scale. The infants in the experimental group will be tested for sensitivity to the oils on the day before the start of the intervention. Massaging will be performed from day 7 through 14 postpartum, 2 times a day for at least 10 minutes at one hour after each feeding. Initially, the subject will be placed in prone position and massaged at the back head, neck, loin and the extremities for 5 minutes followed by the massaging of the face, neck, chest, abdomen and the extremities at the supine position. The control group will receive routine cares.