gavage feeds and paci's

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2006

Same here. I have noticed that some bigger referal centers or whatever they are called seem to forget about the basics at times.

So it would seem... Maybe all the ECMO sucks stuff out of the policy manuals!

fergus51 · Jun 15, 2006

So it would seem... Maybe all the ECMO sucks stuff out of the policy manuals!

:lol2: Maybe:lol2:

LaNICUnurse · Jun 18, 2006

I always offer the paci, and thought everyone did, for the reasons mentioned above. I think it is poor insight into the infants development to not offer it. Also, I always encourage moms to let us use paci's for infants that are not allowed to feed, for whatever reason, because it comforts them and gives them an outlet other than crying.

lovemyjob · Jun 18, 2006

Pacis have also been shown to block the transmission of painful stimulus from reaching the brain because of how close some of the pain pathways are to other parts of the nervous system (can not remember all of the details of thje study I read.)

Jolie, BSN · Jun 18, 2006

So okay. During my preceptorship on the NICU, I came up with the brilliant idea (I thought) of giving the babies on gavage feeds a paci to help them associate sucking with full tummy goodness. I mentioned this to one of the nurses and she looked at me like I was a moron and said she didn't think the babes would make that connection. Our feeding specialist said "yeah, I guess, I never thought of that..." Now, this is a level IV regional referral center. So I figure I'm just being silly, although I did keep doing it, except the one baby whose parents were ADAMANT she never use a pacifier. Just now I noticed that the illustrious Gompers put forth this idea in another thread here. So what do you all think? I don't think I was giving the babes too much credit developmentally.

Wow, Elizabells, I'm beginning to wonder about your unit. This has been basic, standard practice for over 20 years in every unit in which I've worked.

Makes me wonder what else is being overlooked:mad:

rnpilot · Jun 18, 2006

I started in NICU in 1983 right out of school. Non-nutrative sucking was highly emphasized. A long term, past premie had recently died in the PICU from Rumination Syndrome related to oral aversion, and we lost another long term premie in the unit to the same while I was still in orientation. The 3rd premie we worked with that developed Rumination Syndrome we were able to treat through pleasurable oral stimulation such as offering lollipops and juice. That was the last case I saw and that was around 1984-85. All the nurses in our unit offered a pacifier pretty much anytime we touched a baby or went in an isolette. For the mom's that didn't want pacifiers, we explained the importance of them and basically told them their kid was getting one, like it or not (in a nice, persuasive kind of way.) We also used Nuk pacifiers for the larger kids that the mom's were going to breast feed.

elizabells, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2006

Wow, Elizabells, I'm beginning to wonder about your unit. This has been basic, standard practice for over 20 years in every unit in which I've worked.
Makes me wonder what else is being overlooked:mad:

Okay, I just thought of something. It's theoretically possible that the two women in question were being sarcastic. As in "yeah, duh, stupid". I know them well enough that they would have known it was okay to be dry with me. Maybe I just didn't get it...