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Young infants' feeding patterns when sick and well
1Parent-Child Nursing Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pennsylvania.
Insights
Infant feeding behaviors change when sick with respiratory conditions, disrupting coordinated suck-swallow-breathe cycles. Sick infants show erratic feeding patterns and respiratory distress compared to when healthy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Infant Nutrition
- Respiratory Health
Background:
- Infant feeding patterns can change with illness, potentially disrupting early-established feeding synchrony.
- Limited research exists on specific feeding behavior differences in infants with acute illnesses.
- Understanding these changes is crucial for infant care and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare specific infant feeding behaviors when ill with an acute respiratory condition versus when well.
- To identify alterations in feeding mechanics associated with respiratory illness in infants.
- To provide data on the impact of illness on infant feeding synchrony.
Main Methods:
- A comparative descriptive study observing 16 bottle-fed, full-term infants aged 1-4 months.
- Home-based video recordings of infant feedings: two when ill, one when well.
- Analysis using the Infant Feeding Behavior Assessment Checklist, evaluating nipple seal, suck-pause, suck-swallow, and respiratory patterns.
Main Results:
- Significant differences were observed in feeding behaviors between sick and well states.
- Healthy infants demonstrated coordinated suck-swallow-breathe cycles.
- Sick infants exhibited erratic suck-pause patterns, a loosened nipple seal, and irregular breathing with distress.
Conclusions:
- Acute respiratory conditions significantly alter infant feeding behaviors and coordination.
- Disruptions in feeding synchrony, including suck-swallow-breathe patterns, are evident during illness.
- These findings highlight the impact of respiratory illness on infant feeding dynamics.
Abstract:
Observations of sick infants' feeding patterns suggest that changes occur which are specific to certain illness conditions. These changes may disrupt the feeding synchrony that had been established early in the infant's development. Little research has been done on differences in feeding behaviors of infants when they become sick with a specific illness condition. This research study investigated the differences in specific feeding behaviors of infants when they were sick with an acute respiratory condition compared to when they were well. In this comparative descriptive study, infants 1 to 4 months of age were observed in their homes. The study sample consisted of 16 full-term infants who were bottlefed and became ill with a respiratory infection. Infants were videotaped during two feedings when they were ill and one feeding when they were well. Caregiver questionnaires and videotapes were the data collection tools. The videotapes were analyzed using an Infant Feeding Behavior Assessment Checklist which measures four categories of feeding behaviors: type of seal around nipple, suck-pause pattern, suck-swallow pattern, and respiratory pattern. Descriptive statistics assisted in the exploration of differences that existed between the infants' sick and well feeding behaviors. Analysis indicated that there were differences in the infants' sick and well feeding behaviors. When well, infants appeared to smoothly coordinate their suck-swallow and breathe cycle. When sick, the infants had an erratic suck-pause pattern, loosened their seal around the nipple, and had an irregular respiratory pattern with some degree of respiratory distress.