Development of eating and drinking skills/ Feeding development

Question 1

What are the 3 main factors of feeding development

Answer 1

Stability
Separation of Movement
Rhythmicity

Question 2

Describe how Stability is related to the development of eating and drinking

Answer 2

Initially a new-born will show random and uncontrolled movements. Gradually these movements become more organised and controlled. The proximal/ central parts of the body become stable first. Oral stability is dependent upon the development of neck and shoulder stability. This is dependant on trunk and pelvic stability. An early form of stability is the Buccal pads in the infants cheeks- these compensate for an early lack of voluntary motor skills and help to keep the nipple in place

Question 3

What is anatomical factor is an early form of Stability in infants.

Answer 3

An early form of stability is the Buccal pads in the infants cheeks- these compensate for an early lack of voluntary motor skills and help to keep the nipple in place

Question 4

Describe how Separation of Movement is related to the development of eating and drinking

Answer 4

Separation of Movement is crucial for mature eating/ drinking and speech skills to develop. It is the ability to dissociate one movement from another. As central stability increases this allows for fine motor skills to develop e.g. tongue can move independently from the jaw

Question 5

Describe how Rhythmicity is related to the development of eating and drinking

Answer 5

Rhythm generators are important for all body systems e.g. circulatory, sleep, feeding etc. Chewing is a rhythmic motion, so is the suck swallow breathe action. We want babies to develop and have this Rhythmicity