Oral myofunctional performance during food introduction to preterm infants followed up in an outpatient clinic

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate oral myofunctional performance during the introduction of food to premature infants, followed up at an outpatient clinic. Method: Descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, quantitative study, conducted with 45 premature infants at 6 months of corrected gestational age. The study assessed orofacial motor skills during food introduction with the Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation Protocol with Scores-extended (reduced version). Inclusion criteria were premature infants, 6 months of corrected age, who used an orogastric tube, without neurological or syndromic alterations, who stayed in a neonatal intensive care unit, with preserved oral feeding. Variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Fisher’s Exact test. Results: The evaluated infants’ gestational age ranged from 27 to 36 weeks and 1 day, and their birth weight ranged from 435 to 3160 g. The average length of hospital stay was 19 days, and the average length of orogastric tube use was 25 days after birth until weaning to oral feeding. Gestational age, birth weight, length of tube use, and length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit were not statistically significantly associated with the oral myofunctional assessment, despite the high number of alterations in all groups. Conclusion: The children evaluated had a high incidence of oral motor alterations, compromising their performance during food introduction, regardless of their birth condition. This highlights the need for early and continuous speech-language-hearing follow-up.