title: Behavioral state activity during nipple feedings for preterm infants.
abstract: The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of behavioral state activity during nipple feeding on feeding success for a group of 20 preterm infants. The infants, fed per hospital policy at scheduled three-hour intervals, were observed during four early nipple feedings. Nine of the 20 infants were able to successfully nipple their four nipple feedings; the other 11 infants were unable to successfully complete their nipple feedings. The 9 successful feeders exhibited significantly more awake behavior during feeding than unsuccessful feeders (F = 7.82; p = .012). The unsuccessful feeders spent 53 percent of their feeding in sleep states; successful feeders were in sleep states only 30 percent of their feeding time. Along with other research, these findings suggest that infant behavioral state may be a key consideration for nipple feeding success in preterm infants.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, USA.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: McCain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012890:Sleep; D013391:Sucking Behavior; D014851:Wakefulness