The effect of nesting on the physiological responses of premature infants in a regional hospital in south Kalimantan Indonesia

Premature infants are prone to have the instability issues, in terms of physiological factors, including body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation. Nesting is one of the developmental care strategies with an aim to support the stability of infant’s physiological functions. This study aims to determine the effects of nesting on the physiological responses in premature infants at the Regional General Hospital in Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. This study used a quantitative method with a pre-experimental approach, specifically a one-group pretest-posttest design, and was analyzed using the Paired T-Test. The average physiological response measurements before the nesting were body temperature at 36.32 °C, respiratory rate of 51.7 breaths per minute, oxygen saturation of 96.62%, and heart rate of 137.75 beats per minute. The average physiological response measurements after the nesting were body temperature at 36.62 °C, respiratory rate of 48.29 breaths per minute, oxygen saturation of 97.56%, and heart rate of 136 beats per minute. This study concludes that the use of nesting affects the infant’s body temperature, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation, but there is no effect on the heart rate.