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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Feb 25.
Published in final edited form as: J Adv Nurs. 2003 Sep;43(6):631–641. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02762.x

Table 2.

Behavioural code definitions

Mutually exclusive behavioural classes
Arms and/or hands
 Relaxed: Arms and/or hands relaxed, normal muscle tone, not moving, flexing, or extending; there is visible muscle tone in the arm/hand as evidenced by arm/hand not lying flaccidly.
 Extending: Arms and/or hands extended, fingers may be splayed outward or arm may be stretched outward or pushing outward.
 Moving: Arms and/or hands moving.
 Flaccid: Arms and/or hands flaccid, hanging loosely, droopy.
Eyes
 Open: Eyes open.
 Closed, soft: Eyes closed softly as if asleep.
 Closed, squeezed: Eyes closed tightly, scrunched, squeezing eyes shut.
 Flutter: Less than one second between blinks (rapid back and forth eye closing and re-opening), or repeated eye opening and closing.
Eyebrows
 Relaxed: Eyebrows are relaxed, not raised.
 Raised: Eyebrows are raised.
Head
 Still: Head is still, not moving.
 Moving: Head is moving – helping to search for nipple, moving toward nipple in acceptance or head is avoiding the nipple; may pull away, move side to side, or push forward.
Bottle-in-mouth
 No milk drooling out while nipple is completely seated in the mouth.
 Milk drooling out while nipple is completely seated in the mouth.
Breath quality
 Quiet: Breath sounds are quiet, normal, easy, non-laboured; may be shallow or deep, fast or slow; there is a clear sound to the passage of air (no obstruction with fluid or constriction).
 Noisy: Breath sounds are noisy. There is obstruction to the free flow of air. They may be grunty sounding; a dry, coarse sound; no fluid in airway; child may be pushing air outward noisily; may be breathing rapidly or slowly as in a snore; a sound of constriction at the back of the throat. A non-laboured whistle alone would not be noisy breathing. Whistle plus some indication of laboured breathing is noisy breathing (a fluid ‘catch’ sound, a clear obstruction of airflow, or gurgly breath). Alternatively, the noisy breathing may be a wet, gurgly sound; fluid in the child's airway (nasal or throat) that air is audible passing over or through. May be a sound of a fluid ‘catch’ at the end of inspiration or expiration.
Absent for at least 4 seconds (apnea). During a time when breath sounds are audible you detect no breathing for ≥4 seconds.
Sucking.
Pausing: Period of no sucking.
Single behavioural events
Hiccups.
Cough.
Startle.