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Bottle- and breast-feeding: effects on transcutaneous oxygen pressure and temperature in preterm infants
1Graduate Perinatal Program, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Insights
Breast-feeding (BrF) appears less stressful for preterm infants than bottle-feeding (BoF). Transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcPO2) and body temperature indicate better physiological stability during BrF, challenging common assumptions.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal physiology
- Infant nutrition
- Pediatric care
Background:
- Preterm infants often require specialized feeding methods.
- Bottle-feeding (BoF) and breast-feeding (BrF) are common methods, but their physiological impact on vulnerable infants is debated.
- Assumptions often suggest BrF is more stressful than BoF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the physiological effects of BoF and BrF in small preterm infants.
- To investigate transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcPO2) and body temperature changes during feeding.
- To determine if BrF is more stressful than BoF for preterm neonates.
Main Methods:
- Monitored transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcPO2) and body temperature in five preterm infants.
- Collected longitudinal data during BoF and BrF sessions from first oral feeding until discharge.
- Analyzed sequential tcPO2 values and maximal temperature changes for each feeding method.
Main Results:
- tcPO2 patterns indicated less ventilatory interruption during BrF compared to BoF.
- Significant differences in tcPO2 declines were observed, with greater drops during BoF.
- Infants showed significantly greater warming during BrF than BoF.
Conclusions:
- Results challenge the assumption that BrF is more stressful than BoF for preterm infants.
- Physiological data suggest BrF may be less taxing on preterm neonates.
- Further replication is needed due to the small sample size.
Abstract:
Transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcPO2) and body temperature were monitored for the duration of feeding sessions in five small preterm infants who served as their own controls for bottle-feeding (BoF) and breast-feeding (BrF). Longitudinal data were collected twice weekly for BoF and BrF sessions from infants' first oral feeding until discharge, for a total of 71 feeding sessions: 32 BoF and 39 BrF. Markedly dissimilar for the two feeding methods, tcPO2 patterns suggested less ventilatory interruption during BrF than BoF. Sequential tcPO2 values at baseline, immediately postfeed, and 10 minutes postfeed were significantly different for the feeding methods, with greater declines for BoF. Maximal temperature change, calculated by subtracting the baseline from the most extreme temperature for each feeding session, indicated that infants became significantly warmer during BrF than BoF. Although the small sample size necessitates replication, these results do not support the widely held assumption that BrF is more stressful than BoF for small preterm infants.