On the physics of the infant feeding bottle and middle ear sequela: Ear disease in infants can be associated with bottle feeding

Background: When using conventional feeding bottles, negative pressure is g enerated in the oral cavity, as well as, in the bottle when fluid is remove d by sucking. The negative pressure inside the bottle causes the infant to suck excessively and the intraoral negative pressure may subsequently be tr ansmitted to the middle ear via the eustachian tube. Methods: in seven infa nts, simultaneous pressure recordings were performed in the feeding vessel and the middle ear using three types of feeding bottles. Results: with conv entional non-ventilated and under-ventilated bottles a negative pressure fo rmed while the infant sucked and negative intratympanic pressure was freque ntly generated. Conclusions: it is suggested that this sequence of events m ay lead to secretory otitis and it's accompanying consequences. In contrast , a fully ventilated bottle showed positive pressure throughout the feeding procedure, which is similar to normal breast-feeding, and negative pressur e changes were not recorded in the middle ear. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ir eland Ltd. All rights reserved.