Development of sucking behavior in infants with Down's syndrome

Abstract

The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the development of sucking behavior in infants with Down's syndrome. The sucking behavior of 14 infants with Down's syndrome was consecutively studied at 1, 4, 8 and 12 mo of age. They were free from complications that may cause sucking difficulty. The sucking pressure, expression pressure, frequency and duration were measured. In addition, an ultrasound study during sucking was performed in sagittal planes. Although levels of the sucking pressure and duration were in the normal range, significant development occurred with time. Ultrasonographic images showed deficiency in the smooth peristaltic tongue movement. Conclusion: The sucking deficiency in Down's syndrome may result from not only hypotonicity of the perioral muscles, lips and masticatory muscles, but also deficiency in the smooth tongue movement. This approach using the sucking pressure waveform and ultrasonography can help in the examination of the development of sucking behavior, intraoral movement and therapeutic effects.

Pathological Postpartum Breast Engorgement: Prediction, Prevention, and Resolution

“…Unlike breast pumps that use only vacuum for milk expression, this pump stimulates the areola with both vacuum and compression stimuli similar to removal of milk by the baby, 11 which increases the efficiency of milk expression.…”

Feeding and nonnutritive sucking habits and prevalence of open bite and crossbite in children/adolescents with Down syndrome

“…4,6,8,9 These dentofacial alterations lead to problems with sucking, swallowing, and salivation. 1,6,[9][10][11] Craniofacial growth and occlusal abnormalities may be accentuated by the interaction between genetic and environmental factors, such as breastfeeding and oral habits (pacifier sucking, finger sucking, nail biting, etc), depending on the duration, intensity, and frequency of the habit. 2,9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] A number of reports have suggested that nonnutritive sucking habits (usually pacifier or thumb sucking) may be responsible for some forms of malocclusion in childhood, but the role of early feeding in occlusion needs to be further evaluated.…”

Sucking Performance of Babies with Cleft Conditions

“…The term ''sucking performance'' is used to describe aspects of nutritive sucking including suction, compression, and other sucking characteristics (Mizuno and Ueda, 2001). In preterm and medically compromised babies, the examination of sucking performance has improved the understanding of feeding success (Kron and Litt, 1971;Medoff-Cooper and Gennaro, 1996;Lau et al, 1997).…”