The studies reported on in this thesis addressed the development of sucking patterns in preterm newborns. Preterm infants often have problems learning to suckle at the breast or to drink from a bottle. It is unclear whether this is due to their preterm birth or whether it is the consequence of neurological …

OBJECTIVE: Coordinating sucking, swallowing and breathing to achieve effective sucking is a complex process and even though sucking is essential for nutrition, little is known about sucking patterns after birth. Our objective was to study sucking patterns in healthy fullterm infants and to describe the …

OBJECTIVES: Sucking problems in preterm infants can be specified by means of visual observation. The Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS) is the visual observation method most commonly used to assess the non-nutritive sucking (NNS) and nutritive sucking (NS) skills of infants up to approximately …