OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the influence of sensory-motor-oral (SMO) stimulation on weight gain, the time taken to make the transition from tube-to oral feeding and, indirectly, on the duration of hospitalization of preterm infants. METHODS: a controlled clinical intervention study was carried out with 24 preterm infants hospitalized in the Neonatal ICU of the Santa Maria University Hospital in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between May 2007 and March 2008, divided randomly into a treatment (TG) and control group (CG). The analysis of the differences between the groups was tested using Student's independent t-test and Fisher's exact test (with a p value <0.05). RESULTS: there was no statistical difference in terms of anthropometrical measurements, although the daily weight gain was higher in the TG (p=0.16). The TG group made a full transition from tube-to oral feeding on average 1.6 days earlier than the CG, 83.3% of the children in the TG making the transition within seven days, compared to only 38.9% of the control group. There was no difference in terms of the length of stay in hospital between the two groups (p=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: SMO stimulation was likely to lead to a swifter transition from tube-to oral feeding, without any adverse effect on weight gain in preterm newborns. No influence on the length of stay in hospital was observed.
Infant, newborn; Enteral nutrition
