Supportive Developmental Care for Newborns

Sucking on fingers or hands is an innate behavior observed in the fetus during pregnancy. Non-nutritive sucking can be implemented by offering the infant an empty breast (without milk) or a pacifier during routine care or tube feeding.

Benefits of Non-Nutritive Sucking

• Reduces the infant’s perception of pain by shifting focus to sucking instead.
• Provides comfort and soothes the infant.
• Helps the infant return to a calm state quickly after being disturbed.
• Supports the development of swallowing and digestion, strengthening sucking ability and accelerating the transition from tube feeding to oral feeding.
• Enhances digestive function and promotes weight gain.

Note: Excessive non-nutritive sucking, especially in preterm infants, should be avoided to prevent weight loss due to energy expenditure during sucking.