Healing hands: massage may help tiny preemies thrive
NCT ID NCT06163586
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at whether gentle touch and massage therapy can help very premature babies in the NICU. 32 babies were split into two groups: one received massage therapy plus standard care, the other received standard care alone. Researchers tracked how long each baby stayed in the hospital, how much they weighed, and their pain and stress levels to see if massage made a difference.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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32 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2023
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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24 to 32 weeks
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Infants born or admitted to University of Maryland NICU in the first 14 days of life * Gestational age greater than 23 6/7 weeks and less than 32 weeks at birth * Deemed medically stable by the medical care team Exclusion Criteria: * Life limiting conditions, including genetic syndromes * Cyanotic heart disease * Requiring major surgery or critically ill at time of intervention * Osteopenia of prematurity with an existing fracture
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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