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The effect of nonnutritive sucking on bottle-feeding stress in preterm infants
R H Pickler1, K E Higgins, B D Crummette
1School of Nursing, Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.
Insights
Nonnutritive sucking, a method of pacifier use, improved preterm infants' behavior and feeding performance during early bottle feedings. This intervention helped infants achieve a calmer state post-feeding and consume more formula.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Developmental pediatrics
- Infant feeding
Background:
- Preterm infants often experience physiological and behavioral stress during early oral feedings.
- Optimizing feeding performance is crucial for the growth and development of preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of nonnutritive sucking on physiological and behavioral stress responses in preterm infants during early bottle feedings.
- To evaluate the effect of nonnutritive sucking on the feeding performance of preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design with a matched sample of 20 preterm infants (26–34 weeks gestational age) was employed.
- Infants received nonnutritive sucking for 5 minutes before and after bottle feedings; a control group did not.
- Physiological stress (heart rate, oxygen saturation), behavioral state, and feeding performance (duration, intake, post-feeding state) were measured.
Main Results:
- Infants utilizing nonnutritive sucking demonstrated a significantly more quiescent behavioral state 5 minutes post-feeding (p = .01).
- Nonnutritive sucking was associated with significantly higher feeding performance scores (p = .01) compared to controls.
- No specific physiological stress measures were detailed in the provided results.
Conclusions:
- Nonnutritive sucking is an effective intervention to improve behavioral state and feeding performance in preterm infants during early bottle feedings.
- This simple intervention may support smoother transitions to oral feeding in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting.
Objective:
To examine the effects of nonnutritive sucking on the physiologic and behavioral stress reactions of preterm infants at early bottle feedings and to examine the effect of nonnutritive sucking on the feeding performance of preterm infants at early bottle feedings.
Design:
Quasi-experimental with a matched sample.
Setting:
A level III neonatal intensive-care unit in a large medical center.
Participants:
Twenty preterm infants whose gestational ages at birth ranged from 26 to 34 weeks.
Interventions:
Ten infants were provided nonnutritive sucking for 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after an early bottle feeding. Ten infants served as controls.
Main Outcome Measures:
Physiologic stress was measured by heart rate and oxygen saturation rate. Behavioral stress was measured by observation of behavioral state. Feeding performance was measured by duration, percentage of formula taken by bottle, and behavioral state after feeding.
Results/Conclusions:
Infants who received nonnutritive sucking before and after bottle feedings were more likely to be in a quiescent behavior state 5 minutes after the feeding (p = .01) and had higher feeding performance scores (p = .01) than infants who did not receive nonnutritive sucking.