Neonatology

Biography

Chantal Lau trained as a basic physiologist, my interest in clinical research introduced me to the preterm infant population. She was attracted to the oral feeding difficulties these infants encounter that so often prolong their hospitalization in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and the distinctive types of stressors expe­rienced by their mothers and their impact on maternal behavior, lactation, and mother-infant bonding. Her research on infant oral feeding gained momentum over the last two decades with the increased survival of infants born prematurely, many of whom encounter difficulty feeding by mouth safely and efficiently. Through the development of the Oral Motor Kinetic (OMK) monitoring system and the Oral Feeding Skill (OFS) assessment scale, I gained an extensive understanding of how nutritive sucking skills mature. This allowed for the development of a number of efficacious and safe interventions to enhance preterm infants’ oral feeding performance, e.g., oral tactile stimulation, massage therapy and swallow exercise. Efficacy of these interventions was validated by monitoring the maturity levels of infants’ nutritive sucking monitored with the OMK and/or the OFS scale against their oral feeding performances.

Abstract

Abstract : Evidence-based Interventions to enhance preterm infants’ oral feeding performance