PEDIATRICS Vol. 104 No. 5 Supplement November 1999, pp. 1204-1207

Physiologic Stability of Newborns During Cup-and Bottle-feeding

                               Received Mar 17, 1999; accepted Jun 29,
1999.

Cynthia R. Howard*, Elisabeth A. de Blieck*, Cynthia B. ten Hoopen*,
Fred M. Howard, Bruce P. Lanphear§, and Ruth A. Lawrence*

From the Departments of * Pediatrics and  Obstetrics and Gynecology,
University of Rochester School of Medicine and
Dentistry, Rochester, New York; and the Children's Hospital Medical
Center and the § Department of Pediatrics, University of
Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Background.  To prevent breastfeeding problems, cup-feeding has been
recommended as a method of providing medically
necessary supplemental feedings to breastfed infants.

Objectives.  To compare amounts ingested, administration time, and
infant physiologic stability during cup-, bottle-, and
breastfeeding.

Design/Methods.  A total of 98 term, healthy newborns were randomized to
either cup-feeding (n = 51) or bottle-feeding
(n = 47). The heart (HR), respiratory (RR), and oxygen (O2) saturation
rates were monitored on these infants and 25 breastfed
newborns during 1 feeding. Differences in amounts ingested and
administration times were evaluated with t tests and physiologic
data with repeat measures analysis of variance.

Results.  There were no significant differences in administration time,
amounts ingested or overall HR, RR, and (O2) saturation
rates, between cup and bottle groups. Breastfed infants had longer
administration times and lower overall HR, RR, and higher
O2 saturation as compared with cup- and bottle-fed infants.

Conclusions.  Administration times, amounts ingested, and infant
physiologic stability do not differ with cup- and
bottle-feeding. Breastfeeding takes longer than cup- or bottle-feeding,
but infants experience less physiologic variability. These
data support cup-feeding as an alternative to bottle-feeding for
supplying supplements to breastfed infants.  Key words:
breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, cup-feeding.

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