"After five months in the NICU, the Thompson family finally brought their newborn, Eloise, home - a milestone made possible by the NTrainer, a device that helped her learn to feed independently. Born weighing less than 1 pound, Eloise faced long odds, according to the hospital staff at Mass General Brigham for Children. With the support of the care team and the new technology, she is now 9 months old, weighs more than 13 pounds, and is thriving at home with her family."
"Turcu says NICU infants born before 34 weeks or with complications encounter oral feeding delays due to their premature condition. Non-nutritive suck, or the basic act of sucking without receiving nutrients, is a key skill babies need to be successful at oral feeding. Without the skill, premature babies receive nutrition through special IVs before eventually being introduced to milk through a tube that goes directly to their stomachs."
A newly introduced NTrainer device supported a severely premature infant, Eloise, in learning independent oral feeding after five months in the NICU. Eloise was born weighing under one pound and progressed to nine months old and over 13 pounds while thriving at home. Premature infants born before 34 weeks or with complications often face delays in developing non-nutritive suck and coordinating suck-swallow-breathe, requiring IV or tube nutrition until maturity. The NTrainer is designed to help accelerate feeding skill development and is described as easy to implement and use, with potential to benefit many NICU patients.
Read at Boston.com
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