Sucking difficulties on the bottle or breast

Premature infants have high risks of having difficulties sucking from the bottle or breast. Normal infants may encounter such difficulties as well. During the session, the speech therapist will do a physical examination of your child’s oral structures and sucking skills. The speech therapist will also observe your child sucking from the bottle or breast. She will then suggest changes to feeding technique or consistencies to ensure your child has the optimal suck:swallow:breathe coordination. Changes to feeding schedule, or feeding equipment may also be suggested. Exercises to promote a more efficient suck may also be helpful for babies.