Characterization of the transition to oral feeding in premature newborns

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Pediatric nutrition
• Clinical research

Background:

• Premature newborns often require alternative feeding methods before achieving oral feeding.
• Understanding the transition process is crucial for optimizing infant outcomes.
• Breastfeeding at discharge is a key indicator of successful neonatal care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the transition from alternative feeding to oral feeding in premature infants.
• To investigate feeding techniques that facilitate this transition.
• To determine the prevalence of breastfeeding at hospital discharge for premature newborns.

Main Methods:

• Data collected included infant demographics, gestational age, birth weight, feeding transition times, and hospitalization duration.
• The study analyzed the techniques used to support the feeding transition.
• Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25.0 with a significance level of 5%.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were found among premature infant groups regarding corrected gestational age at the start of feeding transition, transition duration, and length of hospitalization.
• The breast-probe technique was identified as the most frequently used method for feeding transition.
• Very preterm infants experienced longer transition times to oral feeding.

Conclusions:

• The breast-probe technique is effective in facilitating oral feeding transitions in premature infants.
• Shorter hospital stays were observed in late and moderate preterm newborns compared to very preterm infants.
• The rate of exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge was comparable across different prematurity classifications.