Mayerl C J, Kaczmarek E B, Smith A E, Shideler H E, Blilie M E, Edmonds C E, Steer K E, Adjerid K, Howe S, Johnson M L, Danos N, German R Z
Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, USA.
Dysphagia. 2024 Nov 2. doi: 10.1007/s00455-024-10780-5.
Breastfeeding is widely regarded as the optimal form of feeding infants, as it provides both nutritional and physiological benefits. For example, breastfed infants generate greater intraoral suction and have higher amplitude muscle activities compared to bottle-fed infants, with downstream implications for motor function, development, and health. One mechanism that might explain these physiological differences is the structure of the nipple an infant is feeding on. Breasts in most mammals are ducted soft-tissue structures that require suction to be generated for milk to be released, whereas bottle nipples are hollow and allow milk to be acquired by compression of the nipple. We used a validated animal model (pigs) to test how being raised on a novel ducted nipple impacted feeding physiology and performance compared to infants raised on a standard (cisternic) nipple. At the end of infancy, we fed both groups with both nipple types and used high-speed videofluoroscopy synchronized with intraoral pressure measurements to evaluate feeding function. Nipple type did not have a profound impact on sucking or swallowing rates. However, when feeding on a ducted nipple, infant pigs raised on a ducted nipple generated more suction, consumed milk at a faster rate, swallowed larger boluses of milk, and had decreased likelihood of penetration and aspiration than those raised on a cisternic nipple. These data replicate those found when comparing breast- and bottle-fed infants, suggesting that a ducted, biomimetic nipple may provide bottle-fed infants with the physiologic benefits of breastfeeding.
母乳喂养被广泛认为是喂养婴儿的最佳方式，因为它具有营养和生理方面的益处。例如，与奶瓶喂养的婴儿相比，母乳喂养的婴儿能产生更大的口腔内吸力，且肌肉活动幅度更高，这对运动功能、发育和健康具有后续影响。一种可能解释这些生理差异的机制是婴儿所吸吮乳头的结构。大多数哺乳动物的乳房是有导管的软组织结构，需要产生吸力才能释放乳汁，而奶瓶奶嘴是中空的，通过挤压奶嘴就能获取乳汁。我们使用了一种经过验证的动物模型（猪）来测试，与在标准（蓄水池式）奶嘴上饲养的仔猪相比，在新型有导管奶嘴上饲养对喂养生理和表现有何影响。在婴儿期结束时，我们用两种类型的奶嘴对两组仔猪进行喂养，并使用与口腔内压力测量同步的高速视频荧光透视法来评估喂养功能。奶嘴类型对吸吮或吞咽速率没有深远影响。然而，当使用有导管奶嘴喂养时，在有导管奶嘴上饲养的仔猪比在蓄水池式奶嘴上饲养的仔猪能产生更多吸力，以更快的速度消耗乳汁，吞咽更大团块的乳汁，并且穿透和误吸的可能性降低。这些数据与比较母乳喂养和奶瓶喂养婴儿时发现的数据一致，表明一种有导管的仿生奶嘴可能为奶瓶喂养的婴儿提供母乳喂养的生理益处。
