OBJECTIVE: To describe the bottle-feeding histories of preterm infants and determine physical indices related to and predictive of bottle-feeding initiation and progression. DESIGN: Ex post facto. SETTING: Academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 40 preterm infants without concomitant cardiac, gastrointestinal, or cognitive impairment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postconceptional age at first bottle-feeding, full bottle-feeding, and discharge. RESULTS: The morbidity rating, using the Neonatal Medical Index (NMI), was most strongly correlated with postconceptional age at first bottle-feeding (r = .34, p < .05), full bottle-feeding (r = .65, p < .01), and discharge (r = .55, p < .05). The morbidity rating also accounted for 12%, 42%, and 30% of the variance in postconceptional age at first bottle-feeding, full bottle-feeding, and discharge, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The NMI may be a useful tool for predicting the initiation and progression of bottle-feeding in preterm infants.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the bottle-feeding histories of preterm infants and determine physical indices related to and predictive of bottle-feeding initiation and progression. DESIGN: Ex post facto. SETTING: Academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 40 preterm infants without concomitant cardiac, gastrointestinal, or cognitive impairment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postconceptional age at first bottle-feeding, full bottle-feeding, and discharge. RESULTS: The morbidity rating, using the Neonatal Medical Index (NMI), was most strongly correlated with postconceptional age at first bottle-feeding (r = .34, p < .05), full bottle-feeding (r = .65, p < .01), and discharge (r = .55, p < .05). The morbidity rating also accounted for 12%, 42%, and 30% of the variance in postconceptional age at first bottle-feeding, full bottle-feeding, and discharge, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The NMI may be a useful tool for predicting the initiation and progression of bottle-feeding in preterm infants.