Feeding difficulties are very common for the premature infants for a number of reasons as illustrated above. In her doctoral dissertation at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Brenda Lessen completed a pilot study of the effect of oral stimulation on feeding progression in preterm infants. Dr. Lessen has developed the Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI), a series of eight massages targeting the mouth, gums, tongue, palate and cheeks that provides sensory stimulation of the oral musculature and improves infant suck.
A randomized, blinded, clinical trial of 19 premature infants born between 26 and 29 weeks demonstrated that infants who received PIOMI transitioned to total oral feedings 5 days sooner than the infants who did not receive the intervention and were discharged 2.6 days sooner.
This technique is non invasive, free, and only takes 5 min to perform. Please follow the instructions for the intervention below and try it on your next preterm infant or full term infant with difficulty with oral feeding. Leave comments about your experience with the interventions. Feel free to post any questions you may have as well. I will attach an evaluation form for you to complete to evaluate this training. Thank you! Let the feeding begin!!
Here is a copy of the research article for PIOMI that I mentioned above.
Permission granted to use PIOMI materials by, Dr. Brenda Lessen.
Dr. Brenda Lessen can be contacted for any questions or for information about the PIOMI program.
Dr. Brenda Lessen
blessen@iwu.edu
Dr. Brenda Lessen
blessen@iwu.edu
