Relationship between energy expenditure and stress behaviors of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

PURPOSE: This research evaluated the relationship between behaviors and energy expenditure in preterm infants receiving nursing interventions.

DESIGN AND

METHODS

This study was an explorative secondary data analysis from a previous study. The current study investigated energy expenditure calculated using heart rate-based energy expenditure-estimate across 500 repeated measures for 37 infants.

RESULTS

Research results indicate that preterm infants expend more energy when they show the following seven behaviors: grimace, sucking, diffusion squirm, fist, gape face, salute, and sneezing.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The interventions for preterm infants should be flexible, according to the infant's stress behaviors and conditions of energy expenditure.