Naghmeh Razaghi - Assistant Professor, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Azam Neyestani - MSc Student of Pediatric Nursing, Department of Pediatric Nursing , School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Hamid Reza Behnam Vashani - Lecturer, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Background & aim: The admission of premature infants in NICU is a worrying experience for mothers. Therefore, early intervention is important. Multisensory intervention enhances mother-neonate interaction. This study aimed to investigate the effect of multisensory intervention on the mental health of mothers with preterm infants. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on ۶۰ mothers of premature in Bojnourd, Iran, in ۲۰۲۱. The participants were selected using convenience sampling. Neonates of mothers in intervention group received multisensory stimulation twice daily for seven days and then for up to one month. Those in the control group received kangaroo care. Mothers of neonates completed the Goldberg Mental Health Questionnaire before one week and one month after the intervention. The data was analyzed by SPSS (version ۱۶) using the independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test.  Results: There difference between the mean score of mental health was not significant in the two study groups before the intervention (P=۰.۴۳). One week after the intervention, the mental health scores were significantly different between the control (۲۷.۱۰±۹.۶) and intervention groups (۴۴.۹۷±۷.۳۷) (P=۰.۰۰۱). Similarly, one month after the intervention, a significant difference was observed (۱۶.۳۰±۸.۲۲ vs. ۴۲.۳۰±۶.۴۱, P=۰.۰۰۱). Furthermore, one month after the intervention, the mean change of mental health score was also significant between control and intervention group (P=۰.۰۰۱), respectively.Conclusion: Multisensory intervention had an effect on the mental health of mothers with premature infants. Therefore, this type of intervention is recommended for preterm neonates’ mothers to promote their mental health.

sensory stimulation, Mental health, mothers, Infant, Premature