To recognize and testify the facilitation function of swimming therapy on growth and development of low birth weight infants.

56 premature infants [gestation aged(35⁺⁴±4⁺²)周, birth weight(2449 ±362) g] and low birth weight infants [birth weight (2286 ± 174) g]were divided into a swimming group and a control group according to the time of giving a birth once they were considered medically stable, also the Apgar≥8 when they were born. The anthropometric (growth)measures, blood glucose, peripheral bloods, 8 selective developmental items based on neonatal behavior and neurological assessment (NBNA), and daily milk intake were recorded and compared between the swimming group and the control group during perinatal period.

① The neonatal swimming therapy can increase the intake of milk, advance the weight recovery after the period of physiological weight drop, prolong the sleeping hours per day, improve sleeping quality and decrease the blood glucose(P<0. 05), but might has no influence on the weight during perinatal period; ②There is no significant difference between the two groups on the time of the first meconium. However, with the more times of swimming, swimming therapy plays an important role in shortening the time of meconium turning yellow, decreasing blood bilirubin on the seventh day after infants were born(P<0. 05) ;③ After seven days, 8selective developmental items were significantly better statistically in the infants received swimming therapy,compared with the control group(P<0. 05).

The neonatal swimming therapy is an early intervention measure which is useful to facilitate the growth and development for high risk infants.