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[Development of oral feeding skills in the preterm infant]
1Départment de pédiatrie, section de néonatologie, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MC 06104, Houston TX 77030, Etats-Unis. clau@bcm.edu
Insights
Preterm infants require coordinated sucking, swallowing, and respiration for safe oral feeding. Understanding these skills is essential for successful feeding transitions and timely hospital discharge.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Pediatric nutrition
- Infant feeding
Background:
- Preterm infants often struggle to transition from tube to oral feeding.
- This feeding difficulty can delay hospital discharge and mother-infant bonding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To understand the developmental skills preterm infants need for safe and successful oral feeding.
- To identify critical components for effective oral feeding in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on preterm infant feeding development.
- Analysis of the components of mature oral feeding patterns.
Main Results:
- A mature sucking pattern alone is insufficient for safe oral feeding.
- Coordination of sucking, swallowing, and respiration is crucial to prevent feeding complications.
Conclusions:
- Effective oral feeding in preterm infants relies on the integration of sucking, swallowing, and respiration.
- Further research is needed to generalize the effectiveness of interventions supporting oral feeding in preterm infants.
Abstract:
Preterm infants cannot readily transition from tube to oral feeding. Such difficulty often delays their discharge from the hospital and mother-infant reunion. Therefore, understanding the development of the necessary skills preterm infants need to acquire for safe and successful oral feeding is essential. It is now recognized that a mature sucking pattern consisting of the rhythmic alternation of suction and expression is not sufficient for an infant to feed by mouth safely. Rather, an adequate coordination of sucking, swallowing, and respiration appear to be crucial if the infant is to feed with no episodes of desaturation, apnea, bradycardia, and/or aspiration. Studies have shown the benefits of some interventions in facilitating oral feeding in the preterm infant. However, it remains to be determined whether these effects can be generalized.
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