Effects of Swaddle Bath on Temperature, Heart Rate and Oxygen Saturation in Premature Infants

Indonesia has the fifth highest rates of preterm birth. The action of premature infants bathing every day may result in stress. A swaddle bath is a technique of bathing to provide the feeling of the womb so that babies feel comfortable and avoid stress, shown by stability of vital signs and a lack of stress behavior. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a swaddle bath vs. conventional bath methods on the temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturation of premature infants. This research was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study with a control group. The 50 participants were divided into the swaddle bath group (n = 25) and the conventional bath group (n = 25). The inclusion criteria were: gestation age = 30-36 weeks, temperature > 35∘C and ≤ 37.5∘C, SpO2 = 90-94%, body weight ≥ 1,500 grams, and not in intensive care. Before and after bathing, the baby’s temperature was measured with an axilla thermometer, heart rate with a stethoscope and oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter. The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and Mann-Whitney test. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the temperature, heart rate or oxygen saturation before vs. after the swaddle bath (p= 0.087, p = 0.55, p = 1.00, respectively). However, there was a significant difference in the temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturation after the swaddle bath compared with the conventional bath (p = 0.019, p = 0.041, p = 0.024, respectively). We can conclude that the swaddle bath affected the temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturation in the premature infants and that the vital signs remained stable and normal. Keywords: conventional bath, heart rate, oxygen saturation, premature, swaddle bath