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Young infants' feeding patterns when sick and well.

Observations of sick infants' feeding patterns suggest that changes occur which are specific to certain illness conditions. These changes may disrupt the feeding synchrony that had been established early in the infant's development. Little research has been done on differences in feeding behaviors of infants when they become sick with a specific illness condition. This research study investigated the differences in specific feeding behaviors of infants when they were sick with an acute respiratory condition compared to when they were well. In this comparative descriptive study, infants 1 to 4 months of age were observed in their homes. The study sample consisted of 16 full-term infants who were bottlefed and became ill with a respiratory infection. Infants were videotaped during two feedings when they were ill and one feeding when they were well. Caregiver questionnaires and videotapes were the data collection tools. The videotapes were analyzed using an Infant Feeding Behavior Assessment Checklist which measures four categories of feeding behaviors: type of seal around nipple, suck-pause pattern, suck-swallow pattern, and respiratory pattern. Descriptive statistics assisted in the exploration of differences that existed between the infants' sick and well feeding behaviors. Analysis indicated that there were differences in the infants' sick and well feeding behaviors. When well, infants appeared to smoothly coordinate their suck-swallow and breathe cycle. When sick, the infants had an erratic suck-pause pattern, loosened their seal around the nipple, and had an irregular respiratory pattern with some degree of respiratory distress.