Neonatal Sucking Behaviors |
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| Authors: | Barbara Medoff-Cooper Wendy Ray |
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| Affiliation: | Barbara Medoff-Cooper PhD, FAAN, Xi;, is Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia. Wendy Ray BA, was a bioengineering student at the University of Pennsylvania. This research was funded by grants from Sigma Theta Tau International and the National Institute of Nursing Research (grant #R01-NR02093-01A1). Correspondence to Dr. Medoff-Cooper, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, 420 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096. Wendy Ray, BA, was a bioengineering student at the University of Pennsylvania. This research was funded by grants from Sigma Theta Tau International and the National Institute of Nursing Research (grant #R01 -NR02093-01Al). |
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| Abstract: | Neonatal sucking responses or behaviors have been of great interest to researchers and clinicians since the early 1800s. Since 1960, there has been a resurgence of interest in the objective study of sucking behaviors in both the psychological and medical literature. The studies have examined both nutritive and non-nutritive sucking measurements. Sucking behaviors have been studied to understand the development of the feeding mechanism as well as to track neurobehavioral development. The relationship between sucking behaviors and behavioral organization of the newborn are considered, along with a historical perspective of sucking measurements, relevant literature on nutritive sucking, physiologic correlates, differences in breast and bottle feeding patterns, non-nutritive sucking, and factors that modify sucking organization. Implications for nursing practice will be discussed. |
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