THE TRANSITION TIME FROM GAVAGE FEEDING TO FULL ORAL FEEDING IN PRETERM INFANTS AT THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LAHORE

It is difficult for preterm newborns to achieve oral feeding success (OFS, the capacity to swallow 100% of the specified volume by mouth), which frequently necessitates prolonged tube feeding. There is not enough research on the connection between OFS and tube feeding duration. The study's main goal is to measure the typical length of time preterm infants spend receiving tube feeding and OFS during their initial hospitalisation at The Children Hospital University of Child health Lahore. In the transition from first to complete oral feeding, we predicted that preterm infants who received tube feeding for a longer period of time would have a lower OFS. Key findings include: • The mean transition time from gavage feeding to oral feeding was 36.4 weeks of gestation among preterm infants who born between the 29 to 32 weeks of gestation. • Infant's sex was not evenly distributed in male and female. The frequency of feeding difficulties was higher in male sex than female, report shows the frequency in male gender was 70% and in female gender was 30%. Keywords: Preterm Infants, Oral Feeding, Gavage Feed, Transition Time.