Abstract
34 very low birthweight babies (mean 1143 g) in incubators were randomly assigned to be continuously nursed on lambswool (n= 17) or ordinary cotton sheets (n= 17). The weight gain for the periods when babies were well was significantly larger for the wool group, 22·7 g/day vs 18·6 g/day for cotton control (p<0·02). The overall weight gain (which included weight change during periods of illness) revealed a similar picture in favour of the wool group, 21·5 g/day vs 18·2 g/day (p<0·05). Movement patterns for the two groups showed no differences, but for all babies a strong correlation was noted between moving and lying supine (p<0·001), having eyes open (p<0·001), a cooler incubator (p<0·01), and faster weight gain (p<0·01). Lambswool seems to have advantages over cotton sheets as a bedding material for very low birth weight babies.
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