Prefeeding Oromotor Stimulation Program for Improving Oromotor Function in Preterm Infants – A Randomized Controlled Trial

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine effect of Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention program on oro-motor function and time to full independent wati spoon feeds in preterm infants. Methods: 30preterm infants between 28-32 weeks of gestation on full gavage feeds of 150 mL/kg/daywere randomized to receive either pre-feed oro-motor stimulation using Premature InfantOral Motor Intervention (structured stimulation) or sham intervention (unstructuredstimulation). Results: Improvement in mean (SD) Neonatal Oro-Motor Assessment Scale(NOMAS) over 7 days from baseline was significantly higher in the study group infants ascompared to control group (9.25 (1.73) vs 4.79 (1.52), P=0.001). Infants in the study groupreached full independent wati spoon feeds significantly earlier than the infants in controlgroup (4.0 (0.8) d; vs 6.64 (1.0) d; P=0.001). There was significant increase in weight gainafter enrolment in infants in study group compared to those in control group. Conclusions:Oral stimulation program improves the oro-motor skills and growth velocity in 28-32 weekpreterm infants. There is decreased transition time from gavage to full independent feeds bymouth