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Author Spotlight: Implications of Non-Nutritive Sucking on Speech Emergence and Infant Development
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Author Spotlight: Implications of Non-Nutritive Sucking on Speech Emergence and Infant Development

Published on: April 19, 2024

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The Relationship between Feeding and Non-Nutritive Sucking Behaviours and Speech Sound Development: A Systematic

Samantha Burr1, Sam Harding2, Yvonne Wren2

  • 1The Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences (HAS), University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom, sam.burr@uwe.ac.uk.

Folia Phoniatrica Et Logopaedica : Official Organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)
|February 11, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Limited evidence suggests a link between infant feeding/sucking habits and speech sound development. More research is needed to understand how non-nutritive sucking (NNS) duration may influence speech sound disorders (SSDs).

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric feeding and development
  • Speech-language pathology
  • Oral motor development

Background:

  • Infant feeding methods (breast/bottle) and non-nutritive sucking (NNS) habits (pacifier/digit sucking) vary among children.
  • Oral musculature and structures used for sucking and speech overlap, suggesting potential impacts on early speech sound development.
  • Understanding these influences is crucial for identifying potential risk factors for speech sound disorders (SSDs).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize current evidence on the influence of infant feeding and NNS on the speech sound development of healthy, full-term children.
  • To explore the relationship between early oral behaviors and the emergence of speech sound production.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic review of electronic databases (PubMed, NHS CRD, EMBASE, MEDLINE) was conducted.
  • Studies examining feeding, NNS, and speech sound development were included regardless of methodology.
  • Four primary studies were included after screening over 1,000 initial results, with quality assessed using the AXIS tool.

Main Results:

  • The available literature presents inconsistent and inconclusive evidence regarding the relationship between feeding, NNS, and speech sound development.
  • A potential association between the duration of non-nutritive sucking (NNS) and speech sound disorders (SSDs) was the most frequently reported finding across the included studies.
  • The included studies were assessed as being of moderate quality.

Conclusions:

  • There is currently limited evidence to definitively establish a relationship between infant feeding/NNS and speech sound development.
  • The overlapping oral mechanisms highlight the importance of further investigation into how feeding and sucking behaviors may impact speech sound acquisition.
  • High-quality research with specific SSD types and clinically relevant measures is necessary to clarify these associations and inform clinical practice and parental guidance.
Abstract

Keywords:
Infant feedingNon-nutritive suckingSpeech disorderSpeech sound developmentSystematic review

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