Comparison of the effect of two methods of sucking on pacifier and mother's finger on oral feeding behavior in preterm infants: a randomized clinical trial

Background: Oral feeding problems will cause long-term hospitalization of the infant and increase the cost of hospitalization. This study aimed to compare the effect of two methods of sucking on pacifier and mother's finger on oral feeding behavior in preterm infants. Methods: This single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was performed in the neonatal intensive care unit of Babol Rouhani Hospital, Iran. 150 preterm infants with the gestational age of 31 to 33 weeks were selected and were divided into three groups of 50 samples using randomized block method, including non-nutritive sucking on mother's finger (A), pacifier (B) and control (C). Infants in groups A and B were stimulated with mother's finger or pacifier three times a day for five minutes before gavage, for ten days exactly. For data collection, demographic characteristics questionnaire and preterm infant breastfeeding behavior scale were used. Results: The mean score of breastfeeding behavior in preterm infants in the three groups of A,B,C was 12.34 +/- 3.37, 11.00 +/- 3.55, 10.40 +/- 4.29 respectively, which had a significant difference between the three groups (p= 0.03). The mean rooting score between three groups of A, B, and C was 1.76 +/- 0.47, 1.64 +/- 0.48, and 1.40 +/- 0.90 (p < 0.001) respectively. Also, the mean sucking score in groups of A, B and C was 2.52 +/- 0.76, 2.28 +/- 0.64 and 2.02 +/- 0.74 respectively, which had a significant difference (p = 0.003), but other scales had no significant difference between the three groups (P> 0.05). The mean time to achieve independent oral feeding between the three groups of A, B, C was 22.12 +/- 8.15, 22.54 +/- 7.54 and 25.86 +/- 7.93 days respectively (p = 0.03), and duration of hospitalization was 25.98 +/- 6.78, 27.28 +/- 6.20, and 29.36 +/- 5.97 days (p= 0.02), which had a significant difference. But there was no significant difference between the two groups of A and B in terms of rooting, sucking, the total score of breastfeeding behavior and time of achieving independent oral feeding (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Considering the positive effect of these two methods, especially non-nutritive sucking on mother's finger, on increasing oral feeding behaviors, it is recommended to implement these low-cost methods for preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit.