Feeding; Difficult, Newborn, Language Delay, Language Development, Maternal Behavior, Mother-Infant Interaction
Conditions
Keywords
Neonatal feeding, Neonatal language, Oromotor stimulation, Newborn reading, Parent infant interaction, LENA
Brief summary
This is a randomized controlled trial to study an oromotor stimulation in combination with a reading curriculum in the NICU among preterm infants using oral muscle exercises, Language Environment Analysis (LENA) recordings, linguistic feedback, and a language curriculum to improve the neonatal inpatient oral feeding and language outcomes for preterm infants.
Detailed description
This project aims to determine the effects of an oral motor stimulation combined with a reading curriculum vs an oral motor stimulation alone vs controls among preterm infants born 23-30 weeks gestation in the NICU. We hypothesize that the infants receiving an oral motor stimulation in conjunction with a reading curriculum will start oral feeding at an earlier age, have fewer days to full oral feeding, and fewer days in the NICU compared to infants receiving an oral motor stimulation and controls. We hypothesize that the infants receiving an oral motor stimulation in conjunction with a reading curriculum will have increased infant vocalizations, increased conversational turns, increased adult word counts, decreased maternal stress, decreased degree of post-traumatic stress post-discharge, improved receptive and expressive language development at 12 and 24 months, and improved parent reported behavioral outcomes at 24 months.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALOromotor stimulation
This will begin around 33 weeks corrected, the day following the first NTrainer measurements. The oral stimulation program will be modeled after the protocol designed and studied for preterm infants and will be implemented for a goal of 10 consecutive days within a 14 day period. This includes 10 minutes of stroking the cheeks, lips, gums, and tongue, and the final 5 minutes consisting of mid tongue stroking, eliciting a suck with gloved finger, and sucking on a pacifier provided in the NICU. This will occur 15-30 minutes before a scheduled tube feeding when the infant is tolerating bolus enteral feeds of 120 ml/kg/day for at least 48 hours. This will occur behind a curtain to ensure blinding of staff and parents. Modifications will be made for infants that remain intubated and only 10 minutes of the stroking of the cheeks, lips, gums, and tongue will occur. Stimulation will cease if episodes of oxygen desaturation and/or apnea/bradycardia occur during the stimulation.
BEHAVIORALReading curriculum
Written packets with biweekly lessons. The first two lessons include how to begin to read and talk to their baby. The second two lessons include reading or talking about the day using infant directed speech. The final two lessons include continuing to engage with the baby through interactive reading.
BEHAVIORALLENA recording
The LENA device provides 24 hours of language recordings placed inside an infant vest. The recordings are uploaded to a computer which analyzes total adult word counts, infant vocalizations, conversational turns, background noise, and silence.
BEHAVIORALLENA linguistic feedback
LENA recordings of adult word counts, infant vocalizations, and conversational turns will be provided in printed form after each recording with review of each recording and progress over time.
BEHAVIORALNo oromotor stimulation
This will begin around 33 weeks corrected, the day following the first NTrainer measurements. The standard care group will not receive any stimulation but will have a study personnel present behind a curtain to ensure blinding of family, staff, and investigators. The study personnel will remain behind a curtain for 10-15 minutes prior to a feed for 10 days over a 14-day period beginning when the infant is tolerated 120 mL/kg/day for at least 48 hours.
Sponsors
Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Statistician will analyze deidentified data and Bayley assessments will be conducted by blinded psychologists.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
23 Weeks to 30 Weeks
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 23-30 weeks * English and Spanish speaking
Exclusion criteria
* Major congenital anomalies * Surgical necrotizing enterocolitis * Non-English and Non-Spanish speaking
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Oral feeding measures | From date of birth to day of NICU hospital discharge | Days to first oral feeding, days to complete oral feeding, hospital days |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of adult, infant, and conversational turn word counts measured by LENA device | From enrollment and biweekly until 36 weeks corrected | Adult word counts, conversational turns, and infant vocalizations from each recording |
| Maternal stress | 36 weeks corrected | Using the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) to understand the parents' perceptions of stress within the NICU using 46 questions on a Likert scale with a 5 as extremely stressful and 1 as not stressful at all. Not applicable is also an option as well. |
| Maternal post traumatic stress disorder | 7, 12 and 24 months | Perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Questionnaire to measure maternal PTSD. PTSD symptoms of subjects will be measured with the modified PPQ, which consists of 14 items that measure three dimensions: unwanted intrusions or re-experiencing of delivery, avoidance or emotional numbing and hyperarousal. In the modified PPQ, each PPQ item is rated on five-point Likert scale (with a score of 0 indicating not sick to 4 indicating very sick). mothers with modified PPQ scores⩾19 and \<19 as having and not having PTSD, respectively. |
| Child Behavior | 24 months | Using Child Behavior Checklist to measure child behavioral and emotional problems in childhood |
| Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Fourth Edition | 12 months and 24 months | Individual assessment used to assess development of infants between 1 to 42 months of age. Domains are as follows: cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior. Scores can be used to assess infants progress over time. Mean scores of 100 with 1 standard deviation below the mean indicating mild delay and 2 standard deivations below the mean indicating moderate to severe delay. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactJulia Mayne, MD
Outcome results
None listed