Effect of co-morbidities on the development of oral feeding ability in pre-term infants: a retrospective study

Maria Lorella Giannì,Nathalie di Cugno,Dario Consonni,Patrizio Sannino,Fabio Mosca,Laura Plevani,Elena Bezze,Paola Roggero

doi:10.1038/srep16603

Abstract

Pre-term infants frequently experience difficulties in attaining independent oral feeding, thus delaying the achievement of an adequate nutritional status and hospital discharge. The aim of this retrospective, single-centre, observational study was to investigate the effect of co-morbidities on the timing of the achievement of full oral feeding in pre-term infants. The neonatal and feeding data of 84 infants born at a gestational age of <32 weeks were collected, and the effect of co-morbidities on the achievement of feeding independence was evaluated using multiple linear regression analysis. The mean postmenstrual age at the time of the achievement of full oral feeding was 36.7 ± 3.68 weeks (range 33–53) weeks. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that a low birth weight, the occurrence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and the need for gastrointestinal surgical procedures were independently associated with a higher postmenstrual age at achievement of full oral feedings.

Highlights

Infant sucking skills differ between bottle- and breastfeeding[10], and pre-term infants have been reported to show a weaker and less coordinated suck[11]
Jadcherla et al.[5] reported that infants born with a gestational age of < 28 weeks showed a significant delay in attaining the transition to oral feeding, but it has been found that the occurrence of morbidities negatively correlates with postmenstrual age at the time of achieving oral feeding skills[5,12,13,14]
The findings of this study indicate that birth weight was independently associated with PMA at the time of the achievement of full oral feeding: the lower the birth weight was, the older the PMA was

Summary

Introduction

Infant sucking skills differ between bottle- and breastfeeding[10], and pre-term infants have been reported to show a weaker and less coordinated suck[11]. Few studies have investigated the timing and effect of co-morbidities on the achievement of independent oral skills. Jadcherla et al.[5] reported that infants born with a gestational age of < 28 weeks showed a significant delay in attaining the transition to oral feeding, but it has been found that the occurrence of morbidities negatively correlates with postmenstrual age at the time of achieving oral feeding skills[5,12,13,14]. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of co-morbidities on the timing of the achievement of full oral feeding in a cohort of pre-term infants and to evaluate their mode of feeding and feeding status at the time of hospital discharge

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion