Effect of position during bottle feeding on physiological stability in preterm infants

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: prematurity; Respiratory - Normal development and function of the respiratory system; Other - Conditions of unknown or disputed aetiology (such as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis); Reproductive Health and Childbirth - Complications of newborn

• Registration Number: ACTRN12611000944932
• Lead Sponsor: The Royal Women's Hospital

Brief Summary

Infants born preterm often require tube until they can suck all feeds. Some preterm infants will receive bottle feeds before transitioning to full breast feeding. In this trial we wanted to find out if the position during bottle suck feeds affected infants breathing, heart rate and oxygen saturation. We compared two bottle feeding positions, the traditional cradle-hold versus side-lying. We studied infants who were less than 34 weeks’ gestation at birth and were at least 34 weeks’ postmenstrual age at the time of the study. Infants were receiving at least two sucking feeds/day. Two feeds were studied on successive days. A pulse oximeter measured oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate (HR) before, during and 30 min after feeds. Twenty-five study infants completed the study. There was little difference in infants’ breathing, heart HR or SpO2 between the two bottle feeding positions. Both methods may be appropriate for the transition from gastric tube to sucking feeds in preterm infants.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2011-09-01
• Study Completion: 2012-02-21
• Last Update Posted: 12 September 2023

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 30

Inclusion Criteria

Infants less than 34 weeks gestation at birth
Infants who were born less than 34weeks at birth and at the time of the first study feed are greater than 34 weeks corrected gestation.
Infants must be having at least two suck feeds per day and less than four suck feeds per day. The number of suck feeds per day can be a combination of breast or bottle feeds

Exclusion Criteria

Serious illness precluding bottle feeds
Craniofacial/structural abnormalities
Transfer to another hospital planned or likely during the study period
Parents unable to speak or read Englishe
Bottle feeds given with a special needs feeder
Parents do not agree to their infant receiving bottle feeds
Infants having more than four suck feeds per day

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Oxygen saturation measured by a pulse oximeter[Every 5 mins during the feed and then every 10 mins until 60 minutes after the feed];Heart rate measured by a pulse oximeter.[Every 5 mins during the feed and then every 10 mins until 60 minutes after the feed];Respiratory rate[This will be measured by the researcher counting the infants respirations every 5 mins during the feed and then every 10 mins until 60 minutes after the feed]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Efficiency of feeding method defined as the volume of milk consumed in mls/kg by the infant.[30 minutes from the start of the bottle feed]