Preterm infants are exposed daily to numerous stressors while being treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU), resulting in their display of heightened motor activity and stress behaviors (Anand et al., 2005). Attenuation
of these stress behaviors is desirable since chronic exposure to stress has been associated with medical and neurodevelopmental
problems in the neonate (Grunau et al., 2001; Mitchell & Boss, 2002). The current study examined the
cumulative effects of massage therapy (three massages a day over 5 days) on medically stable preterm infants being