None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Recently some neonatal intensive care units have adopted the side lying position for bottle feeding preterm babies. It is thought that there may be a benefit in preterm babies’ bottle feeding in this way. The usual method to give a bottle feed is with a cradle hold. We think that the side lying position more closely resembles the position babies adopt for breastfeeding. Some clinicians have observed that some preterm babies appear to feed better in the side lying position as they seem to be better able to regulate the flow of milk and have been shown to have a more stable heart rate and to be able to breathe better in this feeding position. There is a small amount of evidence to show that the side lying position may have some benefits when bottle feeding preterm infants. However, there are no good studies comparing the effect of the two bottle feeding positions, side lying versus the cradle hold. The aim of this study is to investigate the two bottle feeding positions in a small group of preterm infants. We want to find out if one position is better than the other in terms of a baby’s breathing and heart rate during the feed.
Interventions
Side-lying position for bottle feeding two bottle feeds will be studied. One feed will be given with the side-lying position and one feed will be given with the standard cradle hold position. The order of the feeds will be randomised. Feeds will be given by the infant's parent or by a nurse accredited to give study feeds. There will be at least 12 hours between the two study feeds
Sponsors
The Royal Women's Hospital
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
23 Weeks to 33 Weeks
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Infants less than 34 weeks gestation at birth Infants who were born less than 34weeks at birth and at the time of the first study feed are greater than 34 weeks corrected gestation. Infants must be having at least two suck feeds per day and less than four suck feeds per day. The number of suck feeds per day can be a combination of breast or bottle feeds
Exclusion criteria
Serious illness precluding bottle feeds Craniofacial/structural abnormalities Transfer to another hospital planned or likely during the study period Parents unable to speak or read Englishe Bottle feeds given with a special needs feeder Parents do not agree to their infant receiving bottle feeds Infants having more than four suck feeds per day
Outcome results
None listed