Evidence-Based Approaches to Successful Oral Feeding in Infants with Feeding Difficulties

Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) frequently have feeding difficulties with the root cause remaining elusive to identify. Evaluation of the provider/parent/infant feeding process may provide objective clues to sources of feeding difficulty. Specialized testing may be necessary to determine if the infant's swallowing skills are dysfunctional, immature, or maldeveloped, and to determine the risk of feeding failure or chronic tube feeding. Current evidence-based diagnostic and management approaches resulting in successful oral feeding in the NICU infant are discussed.