Impact of oral motor stimulation on sucking skill maturation assessed by Digital Cervical Auscultation in preterm infants

The oral stimulation will be performed by an experienced Speech Therapist and will be consisted of 15 minutes of stimulation delivered once a day 30 minutes before gavage, for the last 10 consecutive days of the period of gavage. All infants will be in their incubators, held in a supported, flexed position. The following movements will be made with the Speech Therapist’s index finger: 1) finger at the base of the nose and moved toward the ear and moved down toward the corner of the lip; 2) finger at the corner of the upper lip and moved in a circular motion from the corner toward the center; 3) finger at the corner of the lower lip and moved away in a circular motion; 4) finger in the center of the lip and stretched down toward the midline; 5) finger in the center of the gum, pressured slowly towards the back of the mouth; 6) finger at inner corner of the lips, compressing the tissue, moving back toward the molars and returning to corner of the lip; 7) finger at the level of the molar between the side blade of the tongue and the lower gum, moving the finger towards midline, pushing the tongue towards the opposite direction; 8) finger at the midline, center of the palate, gently stroking the palate to elicit a suck.