Research paper
Oral stimulation for promoting oral feeding in preterm infants.
Citations: 108
Influential: 7
Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses
93
Study answer
What this study found
Oral stimulation reduced the time to achieve full oral feeding and total hospital stay, and decreased duration of parenteral nutrition. There was no significant effect on weight gain or breastfeeding outcomes. The quality of studies was generally low, indicating a need for more rigorous trials.
- Study & population
- This review included 19 randomized controlled trials with a total of 823 preterm infants, primarily infants born before 37 weeks' gestation, comparing oral stimulation to no intervention or other non-oral interventions.
- Intervention
- Oral stimulation interventions for promoting oral feeding in preterm infants, utilizing finger stimulation protocols.
- Key limitation
- Most studies exhibited high risk of bias, and methodological weaknesses were prominent, suggesting caution in interpretation of results.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Preterm infants (< 37 weeks' postmenstrual age) are often delayed in attaining oral feeding. Normal oral feeding is suggested as an important outcome for the timing of discharge from the hospital and can be an early indicator of neuromotor…