What is ‘successful feeding’ on the neonatal intensive care unit? A psychologist’s perspective

Reissland, N.; Lewis, S.; Lal, M.; Patterson, L.

What is ‘successful feeding’ on the neonatal intensive care unit? A psychologist’s perspective

Reissland, N.; Lewis, S.; Lal, M.; Patterson, L.

Authors

Professor N Reissland n.n.reissland@durham.ac.uk
Professor

S. Lewis

M. Lal

L. Patterson

Abstract

This paper discusses studies of feeding preterm infants on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with a view to defining ‘success in feeding’. The term ‘successful feeding’ is used regularly but without any universal consensus of specific parameters entailing success. The current paper contributes to the debate of the psychological impact of feeding on the NICU in relation to parent, nurse and infant feeding interaction, centring on infant behavioural development in the context of feeding. We analyse the published literature covering a wide range of methodological approaches including randomised controlled trials and observational studies. Four key themes are identified in terms of what contributes to success in feeding: infant developmental maturity, mother-infant feeding interactions, nursing interventions, and comparison of parental and health care professionals’ engagement during infant feeding practice. We conclude that the emphasis of the meaning of successful feeding has changed from a mainly medical focus to include a psychological perspective.

Citation

Reissland, N., Lewis, S., Lal, M., & Patterson, L. (2016). What is ‘successful feeding’ on the neonatal intensive care unit? A psychologist’s perspective. MIDIRS midwifery digest, 26(2), 231-235

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 18, 2016
Online Publication Date	Jun 1, 2016
Publication Date	Jun 1, 2016
Deposit Date	Jun 2, 2016
Publicly Available Date	Jan 19, 2017
Journal	MIDIRS midwifery digest
Print ISSN	0961-5555
Publisher	MIDIRS
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	26
Issue	2
Pages	231-235
Publisher URL	https://www.midirs.org/