Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing Commons^™

Effect Of The Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention On Feeding Progression And Length Of Stay In Preterm Infants, Brenda Lessen

Brenda S. Lessen

Purpose: Preterm infants frequently experience oral feeding difficulties due to underdeveloped oral motor skills and the lack of coordination of sucking, swallowing, and respiration. The infants’ ability to consume all feedings orally while maintaining physiologic stability and weight gain is necessary for their discharge. Therefore, difficulty with oral feeding leads to longer hospital stays and higher costs. For example, with more than half a million of premature infants born each year, a 3-day decrease in hospital stay would save more than 2 billion dollars annually. There is a need for evidenced-based interventions that facilitate development of oral-motor skills, leading to …

Comparison Of Maternal Milk (Breastmilk) Expression Methods In An African Nursery, Ida Slusher, Tina Slusher, Elizabeth Keating, Beverly Curtis, Eleanor Smith, Elizabeth Orodriyo, Sussane Awori, Margaret Nakakeeto

Ida Slusher

Objective: This study compares maternal milk volumes (MMVs) of Ugandan mothers whose infants were in a special care nursery and who used one of three maternal milk expression techniques: double electric breast pump, single non-electric manual breast pump, and hand breastmilk expression.

Subjects and Methods: A convenience sample of 161 Ugandan mothers of infants who were either too immature or ill to independently feed from the breast yet healthy enough to survive in an environment without ventilator support (birth weights, 0.84–3.8 kg) were assigned to one of three maternal milk expressions: Group 1, double electric breast pump (n = 55); …