A study to assess the effectiveness of oro-motor stimulation in improving sucking reflex among preterm neonates admitted in NICU at SMVMCH, Puducherry.

Introduction: Premature infants and those with low birth weights have the highest mortality rate during the first year of life. These infants weigh 2500g or less at birth, indicating immaturity and lack of normal reflexes. Methodology: The pre-experimental one group pre-test and post-test design was undertaken to perform this study. The study population consisted of preterm neonates with gestation age of 28 to 36 weeks admitted to the NICU of SMVMCH. Purposive sampling technique was deployed whereby 30 neonates satisfying the research inclusion criteria was used with a study period of 6 weeks. Result and Findings: The study found that the majority of preterm neonates (53.3%) had a moderate sucking reflex, 26.7% had a good sucking reflex, and 6% had a poor sucking reflex. After intervention, 21% of preterm neonates showed a good sucking reflex, while 9% had a moderate sucking reflex. Conclusion: This study also highlighted that after Intervention there was significantly increased sucking reflex of preterm neonates in comparison to pre intervention level. The statistical analysis confirmed a highly significant difference, indicating that the oral stimulation intervention had a positive impact.