Children born preterm and full term have similar rates of feeding problems at three years of age.

AIM: We determined the prevalence of feeding problems and their association with perinatal risk factors in three-year-old children born preterm and compared them with a full-term reference group. METHODS: This pilot study assessed feeding problem scores in 35 preterm children, with a median gestational age of 30 weeks (range 26-32) and median birthweight of 1260 grams (730-2250), who were enrolled during their admission to a neonatal intensive care unit. These were compared with existing data on 248 term children from child healthcare centres at the age of three. We excluded children with severe perinatal complications from the reference group. The Screeningslijst Eetgedrag Peuters (SEP), a validated Dutch version of the Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale, was used to identify feeding problems. RESULTS: We found no difference in SEP scores between the preterm children and the reference group (p = 0.217) and did not identify any perinatal risk factors for developing feeding problems. Only 23% of the parents of preterm or term children with moderate-to-severe feeding problems consulted a medical professional. CONCLUSION: Using a parental report instrument showed that the prevalence of feeding problems in three-year-old preterm children was low and similar to that of term children.

Uncoordinated sucking patterns in preterm infants are associated with abnormal general movements.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between sucking patterns and the quality of fidgety movements in preterm infants. STUDY DESIGN: We studied the sucking patterns and fidgety movements of 44 preterm infants (gestational age <35 weeks) longitudinally from 34 weeks' postmenstrual age up to 14 weeks postterm. We used the Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale during feeding and scored the sucking patterns as normal or abnormal. Abnormal sucking patterns were categorized into arrhythmic sucking and uncoordinated sucking. At 14 weeks postterm, we scored the quality of fidgety movements from videotapes as normal, abnormal, or absent. RESULTS: The postmenstrual age at which sucking patterns became normal (median, 48 weeks; range, 34 to >50 weeks) was correlated with the quality of fidgety movements (Spearman ρ = -0.33; P = .035). The percentage per infant of normal and uncoordinated sucking patterns was also correlated with the quality of fidgety movements (ρ = 0.31; P = .048 and ρ = -0.33; P = .032, respectively). Infants with uncoordinated sucking patterns had a higher rate of abnormal fidgety movements (OR, 7.5; 95% CI, 1.4-40; P = .019). CONCLUSION: The development of sucking patterns in preterm infants was related to the quality of fidgety movements. Uncoordinated sucking patterns were associated with abnormal fidgety movements, indicating that uncoordinated sucking, swallowing, and breathing may represent neurologic dysfunction.