A Randomized Study of a Prefeeding Oral Motor therapy and Its Effect on Feeding Efficiency in a Thailand Nicu

Premature infants have underdeveloped oral motor musculature, coordination, and strength which impedes successful feeding and subsequent hospital discharge. With over 15 million premature infants born each year worldwide, methods to assist preterm infants improve oral muscular maturity needs to be evaluated. One standardized method is the Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI). In this randomized controlled trial, the effect of the PIOMI on preterm infants’ feeding efficiency on day 1, 3, and 5 of oral (per bottle) feeding was examined. Stable infants without comorbidities born between 26 and 34 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) and admitted to an urban Thailand NICU were included. Once participants reached 31 to 33 weeks PMA, they were randomized into groups. The experimental group received the PIOMI once daily for 7 consecutive days, while the control group received routine care only. After oral feedings were initiated, the mean volume (MV) oral intake (percentage of prescribed oral feeding based on infant weight) over 2 consecutive oral feedings was calculated at day 1, 3, and 5. The infants who received the PIOMI had significantly higher MV of oral intake at all three measured feedings. The MV consumed on the first day of oral feeding was 44.9% ± 7.33% in the experimental group versus 29.7% ± 9.55% in the control (p \u3c .001), 53.9% ± 8.01% versus 30.4% ± 11.07% on day 3 (p \u3c .001), and 61.7% ± 7.44% versus 34.8% ± 8.76 on day 5 (p \u3c .001). There were also increasingly greater margins of improvement between the control and experimental groups at each of the measured feedings, showing an increasing positive benefit over time. The statistically significant positive results in Thailand are consistent with previously published studies on the PIOMI and support the PIOMI as a safe oral motor therapy that could be utilized for infants aged 31 to 34 weeks PMA to improve feeding efficiency