ENHANCED SUCKING ENGAGEMENT BY PRETERM INFANTS DURING INTERMITTENT GAVAGE FEEDINGS

Non-nutritive sucking (NNS) activities were recorded in preterm infant s born at gestational age 32 weeks or less during nasogastric feedings . Six infants on intermittent nasogastric feeding schedules were teste d with a pacifier in their mouth for three 5-minute periods (before, d uring, and after gavage feeding). Analysis of the recordings revealed that NNS activities increased markedly during the intermittent nasogas tric feeding schedule. The overall proportions of sucking engagement, the mean duration of sucking burst, the mean number of sucks per burst , and the mean duration of individual sucks within a burst increased m arkedly during gavage feeding compared with both pre-test and post-tes t periods. NNS by a group of five infants on continuous nasogastric fe edings was similar to the pre-test and post-test of the infants on til e intermittent nasogastric feeding schedule. These results indicate th at in the context of intermittent nasogastric feedings, NNS engagement in tube-fed infants depends on stomach cues and/or temperature change s associated with tube feedings.