Newborn Oral Development

Question 1

Hard palate

Answer 1

• Short, wide, only much less arched
• Rugae assist in holding nipple
• shaped by tongue movements

Question 2

Hard palate abnormalities and what they signal

Answer 2

1. High narrow palate - may signify tongue tie or low muscle tone
2. Bubble palate - a concavity in palate that can cause sore nipples - laid back nursing can help bring tongue forward

Question 3

Tongue movement during sucking

Answer 3

• anterior tongue is stiff and moves with jaw- downward displacement creates subatmospheric pressure that allows milk to flow from breast
• posterior tongue does peristaltic wave - facilitates swallowing by creating amilk bolus

Question 4

Epiglottis

Answer 4

Lies below soft palate to prevent aspiration

Question 5

Larynx

Answer 5

• higher in oral cavity
• funnel shaped
• elevates and moves under tongue when fluid passes

Question 6

Breastfeeding develops which aspects of oral development?

Answer 6

• Temporo-mandibular development and strengthens jaw muscles
• aligns teeth properly
• broad and wide palate expands choanal airway

Question 7

Sucking rates

Answer 7

• 1 suck per second when milk is actively flowing

- 2 sucks per second when milk flow has slowed down

Question 8

Effects of sucking

Answer 8

• facilitates feelings of calm
• reduces HR and metabolic rate
• elevates baby and mom pain threshold

Question 9

Non- nutritive sucking

Answer 9

• increases peristalsis
• enhances secretion of digestive fluids
• decreases crying
• especially important for pre-term infants

Question 10

Pre-term infants and sucking

Answer 10

• kangaroo care combined with non-nutritive sucking helps development
• pre-term infants will not transfer milk until they can safely do so

Question 11

Sucking breathing sequence

Answer 11

Swallowing apnea = 0.6 seconds
Sucking:swallowing:breathing = 1:1:1
More breathing pauses as feeding goes on

Question 12

Cranial nerves involved in suckling

Answer 12

Trigeminal - 5
Facial - 7
Glossopharyngeal - 9
Vagus- 10
Hypoglossal - 12

Question 13

Feeding and swallowing difficulties

Answer 13

• can be indicator of neuro function
• birth injury, congenital defects
• may need to do pacing - removing nipple at signs of resp distress
• supportive positioning - semielevated side-lying with head above hips, prone positioning on a reclined mother