Evidence-based interventions for breast and bottle feeding in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Breast and bottle-feeding are areas of concern in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The clinical issues encompass the typically developing preterm infant, who requires special supports to develop the skills needed for successful oral feeding, and the preterm and term infants with dysphagia, who, when able, require specialized assessment and treatment strategies to facilitate the maturation of sucking behaviors and transition to oral feeding. Research is increasingly addressing the development from non-nutritive to nutritive sucking, maturation of typical and atypical nutritive sucking in young infants, as well as assessment strategies and treatment supports for emerging sucking and remediation of feeding or swallowing problems.