Comparison of the Effects of Oral Stimulation and Non-nutritive Sucking Practices

Summary

This study, it was aimed to compare the effects of oral stimulation and non-nutritive sucking practices on the transition to full oral feeding in babies with a gestational age of 26-32 weeks. Non-oral feeding methods are frequently used in babies born prematurely since sucking and sucking-swallowing coordination have not yet developed. While some premature babies gain the sucking and swallowing reflexes faster, some of them cannot develop this reflex for a long time, so the length of hospital stay is prolonged. All infants who can be fed completely enterally (PMA \>29 weeks) will be randomized into 4 groups as oral stimulation (group 1), pacifier (group 2), oral stimulation + pacifier (group 3), and control group by using a stratified blocked randomization method with a block size of 4. Stratification on GA (26-27, 28-29, 30-32 weeks GA) was used to ensure that the groups had similar gestational age distribution. The time of the patients to start breastfeeding and the length of hospital stay (days) will be compared.

Conditions

• Premature
• Nutrition Disorders
• Sucking Behavior

Interventions

OTHER

Pacifier

Preterm infants in Groups 2 and 3 will suck a pacifier 3 times a day (09:00, 12:00, 15:00) for 3 minutes before feeding and then they will be fed with the O/G feeding tube.

OTHER

Oral stimulation

Infants in groups 1 and 3 will receive a prefeeding oral stimulation program once a day, 15 to 30 minutes before a tube feeding. Oral stimulation programs will be delivered by trained nurses or pediatric physical therapies. Nurses will be trained to deliver the stimulation program to the infants, by a member from the pediatric physical therapies medical staff, before the beginning of the study. Based on Backman's principles, the pre-feeding oral stimulation program consisted of a 12-minute stimulation program that included stroking the cheeks, lips, gums, and tongue.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ankara City Hospital Bilkent

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nilgün Altuntas, Proff · Ankara Bilkent Central Hospital, Neonatal Unit

• Suna S Oguz, Proff · Ankara Bilkent Central Hospital, Neonatal Unit

• Mustafa S Akin, Specialist · Ankara Bilkent Central Hospital, Neonatal Unit

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Max Age

6 Months

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-04-01

Primary Completion

2024-01-01

Completion

2024-08-01