Abstract
To identify the influence of various physiological and behavioral factors on feeding performance of preterm infants in the transition to full oral feeding. We retrospectively reviewed data from a feeding assessment conducted on 24 preterm infants born at 25-31 weeks without severe brain complications. Prolonged oxygen use and low current weight are two adverse factors for feeding efficiency (volume of milk ingested orally per minute in the initial 5 min of feeding) and proficiency (percentage of prescribed volume ingested orally over the entire feeding). Young post-menstrual age, low baseline oxygen saturation and high feeding efficiency were risk factors for oxygen desaturation during the initial feeding. Proper feeding strategies are needed for preterm infants with those disadvantageous factors to improve their early feeding performance.
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