PURPOSE: To compare non-nutritive sucking parameters between late preterm and full-term infants. METHODS: Infants were divided into two groups, full-term and late preterm, and were submitted to non-nutritive sucking assessment using a protocol adapted from the Oral Motor Assessment Scale. Statistical analysis was conducted for comparison between the groups. RESULTS: The seeking and sucking reflexes were less frequent in late preterm than in full-term newborns, as well as palmar grip and hands in the midline. Most late preterm infants presented light sleep or drowsiness before the assessment. Late preterm subjects predominantly presented sporadic sucking or blocks of sucking with long pauses and mandibular locking and/or tremors. Tongue retraction and protrusion were mostly present in late preterm infants, and tongue central groove formation, in full-term infants. CONCLUSION: Readiness for feeding, behavioral state, axial tonus, sucking pattern and strength, and tongue movements were the less frequent parameters in late preterm infants, in comparison to full-term infants.
Infant; newborn; Infant; premature; Sucking behavior; Gestational age; Birth weight; Breastfeeding
