PEDIATRICS Vol. 56 No. 3 September 1975, pp. 361-367
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Effects of Waterbed Flotation on Premature Infants: A Pilot Study

Anneliese F. Korner Ph.D.1, Helena C. Kraemer Ph.D.1, M. Ellen Haffner B.A.1, and Lorna M. Cosper R.N.1

1 Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

Two types of waterbeds were developed to impart compensatory vestibular-proprioceptive stimulation to premature infants. Twenty-one infants ranging in gestational age from 27 to 34 weeks and birthweights from 1,050 to 1,920 gm were included in this pilot study. Assignment to experimental and control groups was made by random design. The experimental group consisted of ten infants who were placed on a gently oscillating waterbed before the sixth postnatal day, where they remained for seven days. Their clinical progress was compared with that of a control group of 11 similar babies. Waterbed flotation was found to be a safe procedure; there were no significant effects on the infants' vital signs, weight, or frequency of emesis. Highly significant differences were found in the incidence of apnea between the two groups, with infants on the oscillating waterbed having signflcantly fewer apneic spells. Infants placed on the waterbed during the first four postnatal days benefited more than those placed later. A non-oscillating waterbed was found clinically useful for very small prematures with severe skin problems, for infants recovering from abdominal surgery, and for infants receiving parenteral nutrition.

Submitted on December 30, 1974
Accepted on February 26, 1975




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K. J. Ottenbacher and P. Petersen
The Efficacy of Vestibular Stimulation as a Form of Specific Sensory Enrichment: Quantitative Review of the Literature
Clinical Pediatrics, August 1, 1984; 23(8): 428 - 433.
[Abstract] [PDF]