Oral-Feeding Difficulties in Newborns
Ilaria Zunino, Marina Porcu, Antonella Giusti
Difficulties in oral-feeding functions are at the basis of feeding disorders in the neonatal period, as they negatively affect the acquisition of the ability to feed in an independent way. Today, these disorders occur in 25.35% of newborns with normal psychophysical development and more than 35% of those with a developmental difficulty, such as premature birth or full-term birth with neonatal complications, such as foetal hypoxia or congenital syndromes. These difficulties are mainly characterised by impaired oropharyngeal sensory and motor functions, for which prompt and early intervention is required, since newborns depend on feeding for their survival, especially in the event of a premature birth because it is closely related to weight. Moreover, due to these conditions, the child is often fed through enteral feeding; if continued this leads to further alterations of these abilities, with hypersensitivity of the oral and perioral area, due to exposure to negative stimulus and non-use. In taking care of the child, therefore, the speech language pathologist represents an essential figure right from NIC (Neonatal Intensive Care), since, through early and targeted stimulations, they can simplify and speed up the development of oral skills that should develop autonomously, but due to the primary problem are not present or are lagging behind the physiological norm.
Keywords
Oral feeding functions, Prematurity, Neonatal complications, Suckling, NICU.
