The use of non-nutritive sucking to promote functional sucking skills in premature infants: An exploratory trial
A number of studies have demonstrated that non-nutritive sucking supports the transition to oral feeding in premature infants (see “Premature Babies and Pacifier Use“, P.W. Weiss, 2002).
The goal of the team of J. Law (Directory of Center for Integrated Healthcare Research, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh), C. Harding und T. Pring (Department of Language and Communication Science, City University, London) was to improve the nutritional sucking in premature infants through the deliberate stimulation of non-nutritive sucking.
Fourteen neonates born between the 27th and 35th week were involved in the pilot study conducted in a hospital in England. Infants were paired according to their physical development. One of each pair was assigned to the test group, the other to the control group.
Comparative values for the test and control groups were the length of stay in hospital, the complete transition to oral feeding and the NOMAS measurement (Neonatal Motor Assessment Scale).
A parent‘s finger or pacifier was used on the children in the test group to trigger a non-nutritive sucking pattern. This was performed three times a day during the first ten minutes of tube feeding to prompt non-nutritive sucking in the neonates.
“The infants given non-nutritive sucking spent fewer days in hospital, took fewer days to reach full oral feeding and made more rapid progress on the NOMAS assessment.”
Even with the small survey sample size the results for the time required to achieve oral feeding were significant (p= <0.05).