Non-Nutritive Suck and Parent Report of Feeding Skills in Infants Born With Cleft Lip and/or Palate

ObjectiveTo compare non-nutritive sucking (NNS) and caregiver-reported feeding skills in infants with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) to a control group of typically developing infants without CL/P. To examine differences in NNS patterns and feeding behavior between cleft phenotypes.DesignProspective, cross-sectional study comparing infants born with CL/P to an age-matched control group with no congenital anomalies.SettingUrban, academic, tertiary care children's hospital and academic department of speech-language pathology.Patients, ParticipantsForty-two infants (21 with CL/P; 21 without CL/P), 6 months of age and younger were included. Infants with syndromes or who underwent cleft repair were excluded.Main Outcome MeasuresA 5min NNS sample was collected from the infant sucking on the lab's custom research pacifier. The infant's caregiver completed the Neonatal Eating Assessment Tool (NeoEAT) bottle-feeding section about their infant's feeding behaviors.ResultsInfants with CL/P demonstrated slower NNS frequency (P = .04) and reduced suck amplitude (P = .04) compared to the control group. Caregivers of infants with CL/P reported a higher incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms (P = .04) and overall feeding difficulties (P = .03) relative to the control group. There were no significant differences between CL/P phenotypes for NNS or caregiver reported outcomes.ConclusionsInfants with CL/P demonstrate differences in NNS physiology and caregiver report measures of feeding compared to age-matched controls. These findings support the need for interventions to optimize sucking and feeding skill development in infants with CL/P.