Effectiveness of Oral Stimulation Intervention on Premature Infants' Oral Feeding at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: The process of oral feeding for premature infant is challenging because of their poor oral motor abilities, immature oral-motor control, poor coordination of suck, swallow, and breathing. Consequently the majority of premature infants are unable to start bottle or breast feeding immediately after birth. Aim: evaluate the effectiveness of oral stimulation intervention on premature infants' oral feeding at neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: Quasi-experimental research design was utilized. Setting: This study was carried out in neonatal intensive care unit at Mansoura University Children Hospital. A purposive sample of premature infants which were randomly classified to the study & the control group (20 in each group). Tools: One tool was utilized to collect the data, part I: Characteristics of premature infants. Part II: Feeding Readiness scale and Part III: Quality of Nippling Scale. Results: The present study showed that 60% of the study group was alert and had good tone and rooting, while 35% of the control group was drowsy, with some rooting and adequate tone. Also, 40% of the study group was Nipples with a strong coordinated suck during the feed, while 35% of the control group was Nipples with consistent suck but has difficulty coordinating swallow. Conclusion: Premature infants who received oral stimulation intervention exhibited an improvement in oral feeding compared to premature infants who did not receive it. Recommendations: Educational programs are recommended to improve neonatal nurses' knowledge and practices about oral stimulation intervention for premature infants.