EFEITOS DA ESTIMULAÇÃO SENSÓRIO-MOTORA ORAL REALIZADA ANTES E DURANTE GAVAGEM SOBRE A SUCÇÃO NÃO-NUTRITIVA E NUTRITIVA DE RECÉM-NASCIDOS PRÉ-TERMO

Abstract

Aim: To verify the efficiency of non-nutritive and nutritive sucking on newborn preterm infants who received oral sensory-motor stimulation before and during the provision of food via orogastric tube. Methods: The sample consisted of 29 subjects, small or appropriate for gestational age, born between 28 and 33 weeks of gestation admitted to the NICU of an university hospital. These were distributed among three groups: two groups received oral sensory-motor stimulation at different times (GA, moments before feeding via orogastric tube; GB during feeding via orogastric tube)and control group (GC). During this step, non-nutritive and nutritive sucking speech pathology evaluations were conducted by, and during these moments, the following were checked: anthropometric measurements, body weight gain, oral primitive reflexes, behavior, signs of stress, oxygen saturation and heart rate, feeding behavior (competence and overall transfer) and suction blocks referring to the weeks of stimulation. Results: In the speech therapy evaluations, it was found that the maturation of the orofacial structures and functions, as determined by the advancing of gestational age, influenced the tasks of sucking. In the evaluation of the stomatognathic system, GA and GB performed better in the posture of the lips. In the latest assessment of non-nutritive sucking, there was a variation in performance among the groups on the signs of stress: GB had a lower incidence of yawning; GA and GC did not present hiccups; and GB and GC showed no gasping. On the evaluations of nutritive sucking, GA and GB showed fewer signs of stress: on the first evaluation (coloring inadequate language and movement) and the second evaluation (general and perioral cyanosis). On the feeding competence at the end of the first week, after the release for oral feeding, the GB had the best performance. Conclusion: The pre-term newborn in the stimulus groups (GA and GB) demonstrated a lower incidence of signs of stress in non-nutritive and nutritive sucking compared to GC. The data presented by GB suggest that the most suitable moment for conducting the oral sensory-motor stimulation is during the provision of feed via orogastric tube.