Physiologic stability of newborns during cup- and bottle-feeding

Background. To prevent breastfeeding problems, cup-feeding has been recomme nded as a method of providing medically necessary supplemental feedings to breastfed infants. Objectives. To compare amounts ingested, administration time, and infant ph ysiologic stability during cup-, bottle-, and breastfeeding. Design/Methods. A total of 98 term, healthy newborns were randomized to eit her cup- feeding (n = 51) or bottle- feeding (n = 47). The heart (HR), resp iratory (RR), and oxygen (O-2) saturation rates were monitored on these inf ants and 25 breastfed newborns during 1 feeding. Differences in amounts ing ested and administration times were evaluated with t tests and physiologic data with repeat measures analysis of variance. Results. There were no significant differences in administration time, amou nts ingested or overall HR, RR, and (O-2) saturation rates, between cup and bottle groups. Breastfed infants had longer administration times and lower overall HR, RR, and higher O2 saturation as compared with cup- and bottle- fed infants. Conclusions. Administration times, amounts ingested, and infant physiologic stability do not differ with cup- and bottle- feeding. Breastfeeding takes longer than cup- or bottle- feeding, but infants experience less physiolog ic variability. These data support cup- feeding as an alternative to bottle - feeding for supplying supplements to breastfed infants.