Table 3.

Recommendations

Theme	Recommendation/Clinical Implication
An Emotional Experience	Provide opportunities for skin to skin care and therapeutic touching of the preterm infant prior to and during the feeding (especially when in an incubator) Acknowledge parental feelings about feeding such as being anxious, discouraged, scared, uncomfortable, and nervous or excited
Learn As You Go	Nurses need to be aware of the evidence base for the techniques they use to improve oral feeding behaviors Nurses should be cognizant that many parents watch them and model their feeding techniques Evaluate where parents are in the learning process and provide time for further feeding education to meet their skill needs Provide resources or contacts to answer feeding questions after the infant is discharged
It’s Technical	Educate parents on the physiological differences associated with prematurity and the physical demands of oral feeding that result in a need to use different feeding techniques Provide educational materials with research about oral feeding Record a demonstration of appropriate “cue based” feeding techniques