OT at CFD

As a mother, I know that we all want the best for our babies.  One of the major activity of daily living (ADL) for infants is feeding.  Most newborns need to be fed every 2-3 hours and can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes.  Recently, I read an article about breastfeeding statisics and healthcare(http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/us_med_breast_feeding_savings.html).
We often hear about the nutritional benefits to breastfeeding, however, we don't hear too much about the benefits of child develoment.  Sucking is a child's first oral motor skill, which must make it very important!  It facilitates bilateral skills (both sides of brain and body), provides tactile (touch), vestibular (movement), and proprioceptive (muscle/joint) sensory input, which can be considered primary sensory systems.  It also stimulates olfactory (smell) and taste.  Breastfeeding requires strong sucking and uses both long and short oral motor muscles, which is also important for promoting verbal skills later in development.  Many mothers choose not to or are unable to sucessfully breastfeed thier baby for various reasons.  If you bottle feed your child, keep some of these things in mind to promote the same developmental and sensory experiences:
1. Continue to spend skin-to-skin time with your newborn during or outside of feeding time to promote bonding, tactile, and olfactory- your baby knows your smell!.
2. Change positions during feeding or change sides every other feeding.  We tend to hold with our dominant side and hold the bottle with the other.
3. Choose a nipple that is shorter and slow flow.
4. Hold your baby close to you during feedings.