Journal of Research Administration

Abstract

Background: Neonatal adaptation during the early postnatal period can be critically determined by neurobehavioral maturation and effective feeding. Nesting, which is a nursing guided developmental care interventions, have shown improved behavioural regulation and feeding efficiency. This study evaluated the modulatory effects of nursing guided nesting on neurobehavioral maturation and feeding functionalities among neonates, also the maternal satisfaction and associated clinical obstetric variables. Methods: An experimental pre-post-test design was conducted among 60 neonates in which 30 infants were as experimental and 30 infants were as control admitted to first level new-born care units. The experimental group received nursing guided nesting for 6 hours per day over two consecutive days, while controls received routine care. Neurobehavioral activity was assessed using the Braselton Neonatal Behavioural Assessment framework and feeding functionality was measured using a standardized sucking behaviour scale. Maternal satisfaction was assessed through a structured rating scale. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests, and chi-square tests. Results- This study showed that in experimental group, mean sucking response scores increased markedly from 9.88 ± 2.26 before intervention to 12.35 ± 2.15 after nesting (p-value<0.05), whereas no meaningful improvement was observed in the control group. Significant associations were observed between neonatal variables such as age, birth weight, and gestational age with post intervention feeding outcomes. Our study also showed 76.7% of mothers reported high satisfaction with the nesting intervention, with clinical obstetric variables including mode of delivery and antenatal visit frequency showing significant associations with satisfaction levels. Conclusion: this study showed that nursing guided nesting significantly enhances neurobehavioral organization and feeding functionality among neonates and is a feasible, cost effective, and family cantered intervention suitable for routine neonatal nursing practice.