Feeding behaviour in infants. 1989

K Paul, and J Dittrichová
Institute for Care of Mother and Child, Prague.

20 healthy full-term infants have been studied in their 2nd, 10th, 18th and 26th weeks of life in three standard situations: before feeding, in the course of milk drinking and after feeding. A polygraphic record of sucking, breathing, swallowing, the oculomotor activity, the EEG and vocalization has been taken simultaneously with a video-recording of the infant's behaviour. Physiological patterns and developmental changes of sucking, breathing and swallowing are described. These activities are considered as fine motor activity of the earliest age. The possibility of using polygraphic recordings of these variables for the diagnosis of the neurological syndrome called feeding problems is discussed. Further, behavioural activities in above mentioned three situations and their developmental changes, are described. None of the infants, not even the smallest ones, were asleep in the beginning of feeding. On the contrary, their eyes were open and there were more eye movements during feeding than in other situations. In the authors' opinions, the situation of feeding has, especially in the first days and weeks of life, a special significance for the development of social interactions between the infant and the person taking care of him. The behaviour of a regularly fed infant in the second quarter of his first year seems to be no longer influenced in the periods proceeding and following the feeding act by the prandial cycle but rather by cognitive needs. The influences involved in the regulation of the behaviour of the youngest infants are discussed.

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
D009043 Motor Activity Body movements of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon. Activities, Motor,Activity, Motor,Motor Activities
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
D003679 Deglutition The act of taking solids and liquids into the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT through the mouth and throat. Swallowing,Deglutitions,Swallowings
D005133 Eye Movements Voluntary or reflex-controlled movements of the eye. Eye Movement,Movement, Eye,Movements, Eye
D005247 Feeding Behavior Behavioral responses or sequences associated with eating including modes of feeding, rhythmic patterns of eating, and time intervals. Dietary Habits,Eating Behavior,Faith-based Dietary Restrictions,Feeding Patterns,Feeding-Related Behavior,Food Habits,Diet Habits,Eating Habits,Behavior, Eating,Behavior, Feeding,Behavior, Feeding-Related,Behaviors, Eating,Behaviors, Feeding,Behaviors, Feeding-Related,Diet Habit,Dietary Habit,Dietary Restriction, Faith-based,Dietary Restrictions, Faith-based,Eating Behaviors,Eating Habit,Faith based Dietary Restrictions,Faith-based Dietary Restriction,Feeding Behaviors,Feeding Pattern,Feeding Related Behavior,Feeding-Related Behaviors,Food Habit,Habit, Diet,Habit, Dietary,Habit, Eating,Habit, Food,Habits, Diet,Pattern, Feeding,Patterns, Feeding,Restrictions, Faith-based Dietary
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000375 Aging The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time. Senescence,Aging, Biological,Biological Aging
D013391 Sucking Behavior Any suction exerted by the mouth; response of the mammalian infant to draw milk from the breast. Includes sucking on inanimate objects. Not to be used for thumb sucking, which is indexed under fingersucking. Behavior, Sucking,Behaviors, Sucking,Sucking Behaviors

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