The Effects of Cup Feeding and Finger Feeding Techniques on Weight Gain in Preterm Infants Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: Weight is one of the main indicators of physical growth and brain development in infants, especially preterm infants. Feeding preterm infants is an ongoing challenge for those in charge of feeding infants, especially those with very low birth weights. Feeding difficulties in premature infants lead to long hospital stays and increased costs. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of cup feeding and finger feeding techniques on weight gain in premature infants. Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 90 premature infants with an average weight of 1784.3 ± 497 g admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Ali Bin Abi Talib (AS) Hospital located in Zahedan, the southeast of Iran, in 2021. The infants were randomly divided into 3 groups: Cup feeding, finger feeding, and control groups (each with 30 infants). The intervention was performed for 3 consecutive days without interruption, even on holidays for each infant. The amount and frequency of feeding each infant depended on the birth weight and the diagnosis of a specialist. The infant’s weight was recorded before and after the intervention. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 22 using analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired-samples t-test, and chi-square test. Results: The average weight of infants significantly increased in the cup feeding (P < 0.01) and finger feeding (P < 0.01) groups compared with the control group. The highest weight gain was recorded in the finger feeding group (109.55 g), followed by the cup feeding group (65.8 g) and the control group (31.1 g; P = 0.001). The ANOVA results suggested that the finger feeding technique was most effective in gaining weight and achieving independent oral feeding in premature infants.