Bottle-feeding of preterm infants is both a routine and essential aspect of hospital care. Yet even routine caregiving activities, such as feeding, may cause adverse reactions in preterm infants if not managed appropriately. Since there are no universally accepted criteria for determining if a preterm infant is ready to bottle feed, the already vulnerable infant is subject to a trial-and-error approach to this most critical life-sustaining activity. Providing care (i.e., bottle feeding) when the infant indicated readiness to receive care has been suggested as a way to minimize potential adverse reactions to caregiving activities. Thus, the primary aim of this study is to test a predictive model of bottle-feeding readiness and bottle-feeding outcomes. Bottle-feeding readiness includes the infant's neurologic maturation, severity of illness, and pre-feeding autonomic, motor, and behavioral state organization. Bottle feeding outcomes include during and post-feeding autonomic, motor, and behavioral state organization, suck-swallow-breathe coordination, and feeding performance. A secondary aim of the study will be to examine how bottle-feeding experience influences both bottle-feeding readiness and bottle-feeding outcomes. This non-experimental, observational study will use data obtained from medical records and 10 to 14 feeding observations each for 95 infants beginning at 32 weeks post-conception age. Data will be analyzed with a variety of statistical techniques dependent on the measurement level of the variables. Continuous response measures will be modeled using MANOVA. Categorical variables will be modeled using logistic regression.
| Tubbs-Cooley, Heather L; Pickler, Rita H; Meinzen-Derr, Jareen K (2015) Missed oral feeding opportunities and preterm infants' time to achieve full oral feedings and neonatal intensive care unit discharge. Am J Perinatol 32:1-8 |
| Pickler, Rita H; Reyna, Barbara A; Wetzel, Paul A et al. (2015) Effect of four approaches to oral feeding progression on clinical outcomes in preterm infants. Nurs Res Pract 2015:716828 |
| Cone, Sharon; Pickler, Rita H; Grap, Mary Jo et al. (2013) Endotracheal suctioning in preterm infants using four-handed versus routine care. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 42:92-104 |
| Pickler, Rita H; McGrath, Jacqueline M; Reyna, Barbara A et al. (2013) Effects of the neonatal intensive care unit environment on preterm infant oral feeding. Res Rep Neonatol 2013:15-20 |
| Williamson, Sarah; Munro, Cindy; Pickler, Rita et al. (2012) Comparison of biomarkers in blood and saliva in healthy adults. Nurs Res Pract 2012:246178 |
| Pickler, Rita H; Reyna, Barbara A; Griffin, Junyanee Boonmee et al. (2012) Changes in Oral Feeding in Preterm Infants Two Weeks After Hospital Discharge. Newborn Infant Nurs Rev 12:202-206 |
| Alberts, Jeffrey R; Pickler, Rita H (2012) Evolution and development of dual ingestion systems in mammals: notes on a new thesis and its clinical implications. Int J Pediatr 2012:730673 |
| Pickler, Rita H; Martin, Alison T (2010) Protection of children in research. J Pediatr Health Care 24:66-8 |
| Pickler, R H; Best, A; Crosson, D (2009) The effect of feeding experience on clinical outcomes in preterm infants. J Perinatol 29:124-9 |
| Pickler, Rita H; Chiaranai, Chantira; Reyna, Barbara A (2006) Relationship of the first suck burst to feeding outcomes in preterm infants. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 20:157-62 |
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