Oral support measures used in feeding the preterm infant

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A S Hill1, T B Kurkowski, J Garcia

  • 1University of Texas School of Nursing at Galveston, University of Texas Medical Branch, 77555-1029, USA. ahill@utmb.edu

Nursing Research
|February 10, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Oral support during bottle-feeding improves jaw stability and oxygen saturation in preterm infants. This technique helps maintain pre-feeding oxygen levels without negatively impacting cardiopulmonary function.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Pediatric feeding interventions
  • Infant respiratory and cardiovascular physiology

Background:

  • Bottle-feeding can be physiologically stressful for preterm infants with inefficient feeding patterns.
  • This stress is evidenced by negative changes in physiological systems and nutritive sucking behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of oral support (cheek and jaw support) as a therapeutic technique.
  • To determine if oral support influences cardiopulmonary functions and nutritive sucking patterns in preterm infants during bottle-feeding.

Main Methods:

  • A crossover repeated measures design involving 20 preterm infants and 40 feeding sessions.
  • Utilized Whitney Mercury Strain Gage for observing sucking characteristics.
  • Employed a Nonin Cardiopulmonary monitor to assess cardiopulmonary functions during feeding.

Main Results:

  • Infants receiving oral support exhibited fewer and shorter feeding pauses compared to unsupported infants.
  • No significant differences were observed in the number of sucks, burst duration, sucking stability, or sucking rate.
  • Oral support did not alter oxygen saturation (SaO2), heart rate, or respiratory rate during feeding; however, unsupported infants showed a drop in postfeeding SaO2.

Conclusions:

  • Oral support enhances jaw stability and aids in restoring prefeeding oxygen saturation levels in preterm infants.
  • The technique does not interfere with cardiopulmonary function during feeding.
  • Further research is recommended to explore cumulative effects and influence on infant state behavior.
Abstract

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