The Effects of "Oral Administration of Breast Milk Droplets" and "Palatal Stimulation With a Finger"

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of "oral administration of breast milk droplets" and "finger palatal stimulation" on feeding tolerance in preterm neonates fed with orogastric tube feeding. This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit of a private hospital. The study included 90 premature newborns born at 28-36 weeks of gestation and admitted to the intensive care unit. The intervention group consisted of 60 infants and the control group consisted of 30 infants. "Demographic Information Form" and "Patient Follow-up Form" were used to collect data. Data collection tools were used before, during and after the procedures in all groups. In one of the intervention groups, breast milk droplets were applied to the oral cavity of the newborns, and in the other group, the palate of the newborns was stimulated using a finger. These interventions were performed for 5 minutes every 3 hours for 7 days during the newborns' feeding times. Neonates in the control group were fed with an orogastric tube by following hygiene rules, but no study intervention was performed in these infants. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) 22.0 for Windows software was used for statistical analysis.