Feeding behaviour of infants with cleft lip and palate

To determine whether the feeding behaviour of infants with cleft lip and palate is improved with a type-P teat, which is widely used in Japan by such infants, compared with a standard teat. The difference in intra-oral movements between the type-P teat, modified for the evaluation of feeding behaviour, and an unmodified type-P teat was also compared using ultrasonography.

In part 1 of the study, 15 infants aged 2 to 3 mo and 7 infants aged 2 wk were evaluated for sucking pressure, expression pressure, frequency and duration of sucking. All the infants had a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate without any other abnormalities. In part 2, an ultrasonographic analysis of intra-oral movement was done for 5 infants enrolled in part 1 of the study.

Sucking pressure did not occur in all infants. It was found that feeding efficiency improved with the type-P teat compared with the standard teat. The expression pressure with the type-P teat was significantly higher than that with the standard teat, and the feeding frequency with the type-P teat was lower than that with the standard teat.

A type-P teat is suitable for infants with cleft lip and palate who have sucking difficulties. However, a type-P nipple with a squeezable bottle does not fully solve the feeding problems of infants with cleft lip and palate. New artificial teats that allow a higher expression pressure are desirable, and the measurement of the expression pressure may be helpful in the evaluation of artificial nipples.