Kangaroo care with a mother's voice and fetal positioning to help preterm babies feed and grow

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This randomized study will enroll clinically stable preterm infants born at 30–34 weeks gestation and assign them to either an intervention group receiving one hour of kangaroo care with maternal storytelling followed by lateral fetal positioning, or a control group receiving routine incubator fetal positioning alone. The intervention occurs at least five days per week, with comfort measured by the Neonatal Comfort Behavior Scale before feeding, after kangaroo care, and after positioning; growth measures (weight, length, head circumference) are also recorded. Data collection is performed during daytime hours and continued until infants reach full oral feeding. The protocol excludes infants with major congenital anomalies, ventilator dependence, active sepsis treatment, high-grade intracranial hemorrhage, or exposure to sedative therapy.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Infants with a gestational age between 30-34 weeks.
2. The mother's ability to read and write.
3. The infant must be fully enterally fed at the time of enrollment in the study.
4. Infants who are being fed via orogastric tube at the time of enrollment.
5. Infants whose mothers agree to engage in skin-to-skin contact for 1 hour, five sessions per week, with auditory stimulation (storytelling) for 15 minutes will be included in the study.
6. Infants whose mothers cannot participate in the study (due to health issues or other reasons) or refuse kangaroo care will be placed in the control group, where routine service care will be applied.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Presence of a congenital anomaly or genetic disease.
2. Requirement of ventilator support.
3. Infants receiving antibiotics for sepsis or suspected sepsis.
4. Administration of sedative treatment.
5. Having an intracranial hemorrhage greater than grade II.
6. The mother having a physical condition that prevents skin-to-skin contact.
7. The mother using substances or alcohol.

Where it's running

• Fenerbahce University
  Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye) Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Canan GENÇ, Ph.D student — Fenerbahce University
• Study coordinator: Negarin Akbari, Ph.D
• Email: negarin.akbari@fbu.edu.tr
• Phone: 00905352679510

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.