YES flow rate matters! Cutting a nipple is tampering with medical equipment in a hospital. Nipples are designed to stop or significantly slow flow when a baby stops to breathe. A cut in the nipple means there is no stopping place and the infant is forced to lift the tongue against the hard palate to try to stop the flow and survive the feeding. This must be terrifying in a reclined position with your arms tucked into a blanket. The cut is never the same and this is always the way to start a feeding disorder. This has to stop. We are smarter than this. There are products designed to flow faster for thickened feedings but there are cautions all over these products about use with thin liquids (formula or breastmilk). If a baby cannot finish a bottle, they need more time to develop their skills, they do not need you to make the feeding 5 x's harder for them to finish safely. So no to slit or cut nipples, no to poking extra holes in the nipples.
Pick the right products, such as the Dr. Brown bottles level I, Gerber slow flow silicone level 1, Parent's Choice slow flow or Evenflo Classic Response slow flow and let babies have a comfortable flow rate that allows them to maintain ventilation while feeding. Put the baby in an upright, side tilt position and pace the feeding by tipping the bottle down and giving the baby an extra ventilating breath as needed.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2386985/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2386985/
www.txsha.org/_pdf/Convention/...Swallowing%20and%20Feeding%20for%20NICU%20Graduates.pdf
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1 week ago
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