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Updated: May 1, 2026

Adapting Human Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study Methods to Detect and Characterize Dysphagia in Murine Disease Models
Published on: March 1, 2015
Insights
Infantile feeding problems are common in preterm infants. Understanding infant oral-motor development and swallowing is key for assessment and early intervention, improving feeding outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
Context:
- Rising incidence of infantile feeding problems in preterm infants.
- Advancements in neonatal medicine improve preterm infant survival.
- Essential need for understanding pre- and postnatal swallowing development.
Purpose:
- To review the literature on the development of infantile swallowing functions.
- To establish a foundation for assessing and treating feeding problems in preterm infants.
Summary:
- Oropharyngeal structures and oral-motor skills for sucking and swallowing develop during embryonic and fetal stages.
- Postnatal oral feeding relies on these developed skills.
- Comparing infant, child, and adult swallowing is complex due to anatomical differences.
- Disruptions in developmental processes can lead to swallowing coordination disorders.
- Feeding problems are prevalent in preterm infants.
Impact:
- Knowledge of developmental stages aids in assessing preterm infant feeding abilities and tolerance.
- Differentiated assessments and early interventions can accelerate transition to oral feeding.
- Preventing further feeding issues through targeted support.
Background:
Increasing numbers of preterm infants 1 and ever-improving potentials in neonatal medicine will lead to a rising incidence in infantile feeding problems. Profound knowledge regarding the development and anatomy of pre- and postnatal swallowing functions is essential for the assessment and therapy of infantile feeding and swallowing problems.
Method:
For this systematic review a selective literature research in PubMed has been carried out.
Results:
Oropharyngeal structures and oral-motor skills for sucking and swallowing develop during embryonic and foetal stages and enable postnatal oral feeding. Knowledge of pre- and postnatal developmental stages of oral-motor development and swallowing serves as a base for the assessment of preterm infants' abilities and tolerance for feeding. A direct comparison of the swallowing process between infants, children and adults is not possible due to different anatomical characteristics. Developmental processes and neurologically triggered coordination procedures of early feeding skills are complex and very susceptible to faults. Disruption can cause severe disorders of swallowing coordination. Feeding problems are a common problem in preterm infants. Differentiated assessments on the basis of these results and early intervention facilitating oral-motor skills can accelerate the transition from tube to oral feeding and prevent further feeding issues.
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