Prevalence of feeding difficulties in children aged six months to six years who were born prematurely.

PURPOSE: To describe the prevalence of feeding difficulties in preterm children aged six months to six years and eleven months, and to analyze the relationships with perinatal and neonatal conditions.

METHODS

This cross-sectional ambispective study applied the Brazilian Infant Feeding Scale to the parents of 129 children followed in preterm outpatient clinics to assess the prevalence of feeding difficulties. Additional variables were collected retrospectively from medical records.

RESULTS

Fifteen children (11.62%) out of 129 exhibited feeding difficulties. Significant influencing variables were being born small for gestational age, having a mother with gestational diabetes mellitus, and undergoing phototherapy. Ventilatory support duration correlated with the Motor-Oral domain, and phototherapy duration correlated with the Sensory-Oral domain of the Brazilian Infant Feeding Scale.

CONCLUSION

The Brazilian Infant Feeding Scale showed that the prevalence of long-term Feeding Difficulty in preterm infants was 11.62%. Small for Gestational Age newborns showed a higher prevalence. Children undergoing phototherapy and offspring of mothers with gestational diabetes showed a lower prevalence. The other variables studied did not significantly affect the prevalence of Feeding Difficulties, but the duration of ventilatory support affected the Oral-motor domain, and the duration of phototherapy also affected the Oral-Motor. This study marks the first application of the Brazilian Infant Feeding Scale in Brazilian preterm infants.