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Semin Speech Lang 2017; 38(02): 147-158
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1599112
Review Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Quantifying Neonatal Sucking Performance: Promise of New Methods

Gilson J. Capilouto
1   Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
,
Tommy J. Cunningham
2   NFANT Labs, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia
,
David R. Mullineaux
3   School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, England, United Kingdom
,
Eleonora Tamilia
4   Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
,
Christos Papadelis
5   Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
,
Peter J. Giannone
6   Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
21 March 2017 (online)

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Abstract

Neonatal feeding has been traditionally understudied so guidelines and evidence-based support for common feeding practices are limited. A major contributing factor to the paucity of evidence-based practice in this area has been the lack of simple-to-use, low-cost tools for monitoring sucking performance. We describe new methods for quantifying neonatal sucking performance that hold significant clinical and research promise. We present early results from an ongoing study investigating neonatal sucking as a marker of risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. We include quantitative measures of sucking performance to better understand how movement variability evolves during skill acquisition. Results showed the coefficient of variation of suck duration was significantly different between preterm neonates at high risk for developmental concerns (HRPT) and preterm neonates at low risk for developmental concerns (LRPT). For HRPT, results indicated the coefficient of variation of suck smoothness increased from initial feeding to discharge and remained significantly greater than healthy full-term newborns (FT) at discharge. There was no significant difference in our measures between FT and LRPT at discharge. Our findings highlight the need to include neonatal sucking assessment as part of routine clinical care in order to capture the relative risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at discharge.

Keywords

Premature neonate - suck behavior - nutritive sucking patterns - oral feeding - feeding skills
 

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