General tips for professionals who are working with infants who are learning to eat, with both breast or bottle feedings covered.

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FUN Feeding Facts and Fiction…Question #8

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Pharyngeal pressures during a swallow are lower in infants younger than 35-36 weeks’ gestation, which can increase risk of aspiration.          TRUE This is true!  Remember during a swallow, the pharyngeal pressures need to be able to direct the bolus down into the esophagus.  And to do that, the upper esophageal sphincter needs to open up…

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FUN Feeding Facts and Fiction…Question #4

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Starting oral feedings earlier will help babies reach full oral feedings sooner.  FALSE This is not true.  Feeding development is mostly driven by maturation.  In extreme situations if a baby is not able to eat for months and months, then of course this may be true.  But for both typically developing preterm infants and babies…

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FUN Feeding Facts and Fiction…Question #3

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Side-lying is always best because preterm infants are always more stable in side-lying.  FALSE  This is actually not true.  Side-lying may indeed help infants be more stable in their oxygenation and breathing coordination, but it is not a blanket statement. In a review article by Park and colleagues (2018), the data were not clear that…

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FUN Feeding Facts and Fiction… Question #2

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Human touch while being gavaged accelerates/improves oral feeding in preterm infants.                           TRUE I think we all agree that human touch is critical for us all – even when we are not feeling well.  But preterm infants are often gavage fed in their isolettes, alone.  We have several studies dating back to the mid-1990s that directly…

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