In contrast to the frequent exposure to procedural touch, preterm infants in
NICUs receive relatively little comforting or soothing touch, such as stroking.
Using time-lapsed video recordings, Blackburn and Barnard12 examined caregiving
provided to 102 preterm infants: They reported that social stroking was the type
of contact observed least frequently. During the 6, 24-hour observation periods,
25 of the infants received no social stroking. Werner and Conway reported similar
findings based on 2, 55-minute observations of 11 preterm infants who were
23.5 weeks to 28.5 weeks GA.18 Only 4.4% of the contacts observed were
described as “comfort measures,” such as soothing touch, while only 3 of the
11 infants received any comforting touch. Such touch was provided by only one
of the nurses observed.