Biomaterial Database

Young infants' feeding patterns when sick and well. 1989

A E Conway

Parent-Child Nursing Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pennsylvania.

Observations of sick infants' feeding patterns suggest that changes occur which are specific to certain illness conditions. These changes may disrupt the feeding synchrony that had been established early in the infant's development. Little research has been done on differences in feeding behaviors of infants when they become sick with a specific illness condition. This research study investigated the differences in specific feeding behaviors of infants when they were sick with an acute respiratory condition compared to when they were well. In this comparative descriptive study, infants 1 to 4 months of age were observed in their homes. The study sample consisted of 16 full-term infants who were bottlefed and became ill with a respiratory infection. Infants were videotaped during two feedings when they were ill and one feeding when they were well. Caregiver questionnaires and videotapes were the data collection tools. The videotapes were analyzed using an Infant Feeding Behavior Assessment Checklist which measures four categories of feeding behaviors: type of seal around nipple, suck-pause pattern, suck-swallow pattern, and respiratory pattern. Descriptive statistics assisted in the exploration of differences that existed between the infants' sick and well feeding behaviors. Analysis indicated that there were differences in the infants' sick and well feeding behaviors. When well, infants appeared to smoothly coordinate their suck-swallow and breathe cycle. When sick, the infants had an erratic suck-pause pattern, loosened their seal around the nipple, and had an irregular respiratory pattern with some degree of respiratory distress.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D009034	Mother-Child Relations	Interaction between a mother and child.	Mother-Child Interaction,Mother-Child Relationship,Mother-Infant Interaction,Mother-Infant Relations,Interaction, Mother-Child,Interaction, Mother-Infant,Interactions, Mother-Child,Interactions, Mother-Infant,Mother Child Interaction,Mother Child Relations,Mother Child Relationship,Mother Infant Interaction,Mother Infant Relations,Mother-Child Interactions,Mother-Child Relation,Mother-Child Relationships,Mother-Infant Interactions,Mother-Infant Relation,Relation, Mother-Child,Relation, Mother-Infant,Relations, Mother-Child,Relations, Mother-Infant,Relationship, Mother-Child,Relationships, Mother-Child
D009730	Nursing Assessment	Evaluation of the nature and extent of nursing problems presented by a patient for the purpose of patient care planning.	Nursing Protocols,Assessment, Nursing,Protocols, Nursing,Assessments, Nursing,Nursing Assessments,Nursing Protocol,Protocol, Nursing
D009733	Nursing Diagnosis	Conclusions derived from the nursing assessment that establish a health status profile for the patient and from which nursing interventions may be ordered.	Diagnosis, Nursing,Diagnoses, Nursing,Nursing Diagnoses
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D012119	Respiration	The act of breathing with the LUNGS, consisting of INHALATION, or the taking into the lungs of the ambient air, and of EXHALATION, or the expelling of the modified air which contains more CARBON DIOXIDE than the air taken in (Blakiston's Gould Medical Dictionary, 4th ed.). This does not include tissue respiration (	Breathing
D012141	Respiratory Tract Infections	Invasion of the host RESPIRATORY SYSTEM by microorganisms, usually leading to pathological processes or diseases.	Respiratory System Infections,Upper Respiratory Tract Infection,Upper Respiratory Tract Infections,Infections, Respiratory,Infections, Respiratory Tract,Infections, Upper Respiratory,Infections, Upper Respiratory Tract,Respiratory Infections,Upper Respiratory Infections,Infection, Respiratory System,Infection, Respiratory Tract,Respiratory Infection, Upper,Respiratory System Infection,Respiratory Tract Infection
D001903	Bottle Feeding	Use of nursing bottles for feeding. Applies to humans and animals.	Bottlefed,Bottlefeeding