Purpose
To verify the influence of preterm infants’ behavioral states in non-nutritive sucking, nutritive sucking and feeding performance at the moment of oral feeding release.
Methods
Thirty-two preterm infants participated in the study. They were hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and presented stable clinical conditions. After medical release for oral feeding, the following aspects of infants were observed by the same speech therapist: behavioral state, postural pattern, oral reflexes, phono-articulatory organs’ characteristics, non-nutritive and nutritive sucking, number of sucks per block, rate of milk transfer and oral feeding performance.
Results
No relationship was found between the infants’ behavioral states and non-nutritive sucking. In nutritive sucking it was verified the influence of behavioral states on the number of sucks in the three first blocks intervals sucking/pause. This means that at the moment of oral feeding start infants in the alertness state presented a higher number of sucks than those in the sleep state. Consequently an impact on feeding performance was verified, with a higher rate of milk transfer and an increased oral feeding performance. Nonetheless no statistical significance was found in regards to these aspects.
Conclusion
This research’s findings show that behavioral states did not influence on non-nutritive sucking aspects. But in nutritive sucking, infants in the alertness state presented a higher number of sucks per block than those in the sleep state.
Suction; Sucking behavior; Infant; Premature; Consciousness; Feeding