The Comparison of the Effect of Cup, Syringe, and Finger Feeding on Reaching the Time of Full Oral Feeding and Weight Gain of Preterm neonate’s: A randomized

Abstract

Abstract: The Comparison of the Effect of Cup, Syringe, and Finger Feeding on Reaching the Time of Full Oral Feeding and Weight Gain of Preterm neonate’s: A randomized clinical trial Introduction: Transferring gastric feeding to oral feeding is considered a big challenge for premature newborn and the health team, because the best method of oral feeding in premature newborn is not yet known. Due to many anatomical and physiological disabilities, premature babies face oral feeding problems and are fed by gavage, long-term exposure to gavage tube may have negative effects and lead to long-term feeding problems. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of three feeding methods - cup feeding, syringe feeding and finger feeding on the time to complete oral feeding and weight gain in premature infants. Materials and methods: This research was a randomized clinical trial that was conducted on 99 premature neonates who were fed with a cup were compared with babies who were fed aged 30-34 weeks hospitalized in the neonatal and NICU departments of Al-Zahra and Taleghani educational centers in Tabriz. In this research, a group of neonates who were fed with a cup were compared with neonates who were fed with fingers and fed with a syringe. Subjects were randomly assigned in blocks of 6 and 9 with a ratio of 1:1:1 to three groups of cup feeding (33 person), syringe (33 person) and finger feeding (33 person). Complete oral feeding and weight gain were studied. The researcher attended the educational-therapeutic centers of Al-Zahra and Taleghani and selected the newborns born at 30-34 weeks and completed the eligibility criteria checklist for them, and the newborns who were eligible to enter the study, provided written informed consent to their parents. Was placed and the questionnaire of the characteristics of the newborn and the questionnaire of personal and social characteristics were completed. SPSS/version 21 program was used to analyze the data. The normality of data distribution was checked using the Shapiro-Wilk test. ANOVA statistical test was used to compare the quantitative variables of individual social characteristics between the three groups and chi-square statistical test was used to compare the qualitative variables of individual social characteristics. ANCOVA statistical test was used to compare the time to complete oral feeding, daily weight gain, oxygen saturation and heart rate after feeding and in the studied groups. The chi-square test was used to compare side effects (choking, bradycardia and apnea) and mothers' satisfaction with the feeding method. In all steps, α=0.05 and a confidence interval of 95% were considered. The random assignment of people in groups controlled confounding variables to a large extent. In case of significant differences between the groups, it was controlled through statistics. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the average time to complete oral feeding in the 3 study groups (P=0.652). The average daily weight gain did not show a statistically significant difference between the study groups (P=0.127). In terms of average oxygen saturation after feeding, no significant difference was observed among the study groups (P=0.337). The average heart rate after feeding showed no statistically significant difference between the study groups (P=0.223). During this study, no apnea occurred in any of the groups. Regarding the incidence of bradycardia and suffocation, no statistically significant difference was observed between the study groups (P=0.364), (P=0.742). In terms of the level of satisfaction with the intervention, no significant difference was observed between the study groups (P=0.908). Conclusion: Owing to the results achieved by this research, one of these 3 methods of cup feeding, syringe feeding and finger feeding could be considered in the neonatal NICU with due attention to the personnel’s expertise for feeding the newborns.