Effects of nonnutritive sucking stimulation with gloved finger on feeding transition in very low birth weight premature infants

Purpose to analyze the influence of nonnutritive sucking stimulation with the gloved finger technique on readiness and the transition from gastric to oral feeding in very low birthweigth premature infants. Methods aleatory, prospective, longitudinal, experimental and controlled study in premature infants attended in intense care units in Hospital de Clínicas, with gestational age £ 32 weeks and birth weigths £ 1500g, stable clinical. Newborns were randomly distributed in two groups: the control group, without stimulation NNS and the experimental group with stimulation NNS with gloved finger, three time for day, three days in the week. There were measured criteria such as the score of oral feeding readiness evaluation, stress signs during oral feeding and time of transition from gastric to oral feeding. Results when compared the experimental group with the control group, it was observed a significantly higher score in the preterm infant oral feeding readiness evaluation, lower of signs of stress and a shorter time of transition from gastric to oral feeding. Conclusion the NNS stimulation with the gloved finger technique, improved preterm infant oral feeding readiness, reduced stress signals frequency while oral feeding and influenced the time of feeding transition in the experimental group when compared to the control group.