Sonya,

I don't have time to dig up exact references for you, but there have
been studies showing that infants who were fed via NG tubes are more
likely to develop oral sensory feeding disorders (now obviously
bearing in mind that most healthy babies are not being fed by NG tube
so the NG tube itself is probably more a contributing factor than
*the* cause per se). There are also studies comparing oral vs
nasogastric tubes as well as studies looking at indwelling nasogastric
tubes vs. intermittent nasogastric tubes. Go to pubmed or google
scholar and do a few searches with "nasogastric tube" "pediatric
feeding disorder" and other such combos. You should turn up some
relevant research. NG/OG insertion can be traumatic and the presence
of the tube definitely impacts the swallow itself as well. It's
invasive. But bottle feeding can be too...

I would also look at the recent posts on imprinting and nipple
shields, including latchment.com which was mentioned by Virginia
Thorley. I think there are cases where a very gently, skillfully
placed NG tube is a better choice than a bottle (especially in the
preterm/sick infant population). And there are certainly circumstances
in which I would opt for alternative feeding methods (cup, SNS, finger
feed, or even bottle) over an NG. But I don't think I would routinely
use NG tubes in a term, well baby population. My two cents.

-Laura Wasielewski MS, CCC-SLP, IBCLC
Los Angeles, CA

>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:33:48 -0500
> From:    Sonya Myles <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Naso Gastric feeds
>
> Hello
>
> I was wondering if someone could help me. I have recently been working with a Dr. who is pro-breastfeeding (yay) but seems to take this to the extreme. Her big thing is that to avoid nipple confusion, any baby who is not breastfeeding well, and needs a supplementary or complimentary feed has a naso-gastric tube passed for a gavage feed. She writes the actual dr's order as "no bottle feeds" and will only very occasionally allow finger feeds. I am looking for research about nipple confusion, flow preference and possibly the dangers of NG feeds in a healthy population. Any evidence out there that will help me explain to her that this isn't best practice would be welcome,
>
> thanks in advance for all advice and information,
> Sonya
>
>             ***********************************************

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