Prone and Supine Positions in Preterm Infants Receiving Mechanical Ventilation

Positioning, which is one of the individualized developmental care methods, is known as the important care support process which is applied with the purpose of ensuring the least damage from the environmental. Positioning in preterm infants is the basis of neonatal nursing care. Positioning in preterm infants receiving mechanical ventilation support is important in terms of physiological and neurodevelopment. In infants undergoing respiratory support in NICU, it is important to determine the appropriate position, the frequency and duration of position change in order to reduce the oxygen need. In this respect, the aim of this study, designed as a randomized controlled trial, was to determine the effect of supine and prone positions on physiological variables (oxygen saturation and heart rate) of preterm infants receiving mechanical ventilation.