Over the last 20 years, 640 premature newborns with alterations in suction-deglution have been taken care of in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, using techniques for patients with immaturity, and neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiologic and respiratory pathologies. This descriptive study includes the treatment employed mainly in premature newborns during this period. Suction, swallowing and breathing coordination are some of the most complex abilities that premature newborns face, due to their anatomofunctional immaturity and improper sensoriomotor integration for the high energy requirements they must meet. Sucking and swallowing are voluntary and involuntary processes that guarantee the safe passage of food from mouth to stomach, and require the coordination of the cranial nerves, the brain stem and cerebral cortex and muscles of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus. The rehabilitation treatment consists in the positioning of the newborn and caretaker, adaptation of teat, regulation of muscle tone and progressive intake of milk. The feeding processing was reduced to 1.5 weeks in newborns submitted to treatment, whereas in those who did not receive the treatment, the proccess took up to 3 weeks.

No abstract

Over the last 20 years, 640 premature newborns with suction-deglutition alterations have been taken care of in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gómez, using techniques for patients with immaturity and neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiologic and respiratory pathologies. This descriptive study includes the treatment employed mainly in premature newborns during this period. Suction, swallowing, and breathing coordination are some of the most complex abilities that premature newborns face due to their anatomic and functional immaturity and improper sensorimotor integration for the high energy requirements they must meet. Sucking and swallowing are voluntary and involuntary processes that guarantee the safe passage of food from the mouth to the stomach and require the coordination of the cranial nerves, the brain stem and cerebral cortex and muscles of the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus. The rehabilitation treatment consists in the positioning of the newborn and caretaker, adaptation of teats, regulation of muscle tone and progressive intake of milk. The feeding processing was reduced to 1.5 weeks in newborns submitted to the treatment, whereas in those who did not receive the treatment, the process took up to three weeks.