Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Non-Nutritive Suck Parameters Measurements Using a Custom Pressure Transducer System
06:19

Non-Nutritive Suck Parameters Measurements Using a Custom Pressure Transducer System

Published on: April 19, 2024

Sucking patterns in fullterm infants between birth and 10 weeks of age

Saakje P da Costa1, Cees P van der Schans, Sarai R Boelema

  • 1Research and Innovation Group in Health Care and Nursing, Hanze University, Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands. s.p.da.costa@pl.hanze.nl

Infant Behavior & Development
|January 12, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Most healthy newborns exhibit normal sucking patterns shortly after birth. However, about one-third of infants show irregular sucking patterns up to 10 weeks, with bottle-feeding being a potential influencing factor.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal development
  • Infant feeding behavior
  • Oral-motor function

Background:

  • Effective sucking, coordinating sucking, swallowing, and breathing, is crucial for infant nutrition.
  • Limited knowledge exists regarding infant sucking patterns immediately following birth.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate sucking patterns in healthy, full-term infants.
  • To document age-specific variations in infant sucking behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 30 healthy, full-term infants from birth to 10 weeks of age.
  • Recording of 5-7 feeding episodes per infant.
  • Assessment of feeding episodes using the Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS).

Main Results:

  • 27 out of 30 infants demonstrated normal sucking patterns within the first 3 days of life.
  • 14% (23/171) of feeding episodes showed abnormal sucking patterns between birth and 10 weeks.
  • 10 infants displayed arrhythmical sucking patterns by 10 weeks post-birth; bottle-fed infants showed this more frequently.

Conclusions:

  • Healthy full-term infants generally initiate normal sucking patterns soon after birth.
  • Approximately one-third of infants experienced at least one deviating sucking episode by 10 weeks of age.
  • Bottle-feeding was identified as a factor influencing sucking patterns, with no other significant influences found.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling07:11

Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling

Published on: February 5, 2019

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations06:34

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

Related Concept Videos

Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Oral01:16

Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Oral

The oral stage is the initial phase of Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, occurring from birth to approximately 12 to 18 months. During this period, the infant's mouth serves as the primary source of pleasure, with actions such as sucking, chewing, biting, and drinking playing a crucial role in reducing tension. These activities are essential not only for nourishment but also for the infant's psychological and emotional satisfaction.
Weaning, typically occurring around the age...
Imprinting01:22

Imprinting

Behavioral imprinting is observed in some newborn animals and occurs when they develop strong and specific attachments to another animal (usually a parent) following brief, early-life exposures. Offspring imprint onto parents within a brief period after birth or hatching; this time window is called the critical period. Once imprinting occurs, the bond established between the parents and their offspring is usually long-lasting.
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Development of the Oral Microbiota01:28

Development of the Oral Microbiota

The establishment of the oral microbiome begins before birth, challenging the long-held belief that the fetal oral cavity is sterile. The presence of oral microbes such as Streptococcus and Fusobacterium in amniotic fluid suggests that microbial exposure may occur in utero, potentially through translocation from the maternal oral or gastrointestinal tract. This early colonization primes the neonatal immune system and sets the stage for subsequent microbial succession. Maternal health,...
Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that physical...