Age, food deprivation, nonnutritive sucking, and movement in the human newborn.

Abstract

Fifty human newborns were observed during the 1st 3 days of life to determine effects of age and food deprivation on the infant''s tendency to quiet when given an opportunity to suck on a blind nipple. Thirty Ss [subjects] were observed prior to their 1st postnatal feeding. Under the conditions of observation, almost all Ss in the 2nd and 3rd days of life showed a sudden reduction of movement with nipple stimulation; the Ss who sucked well prior to the 1st feeding also quieted when the nipple was inserted into their mouths. Feeding, even the 1st, tended to reduce the level of Ss'' movement. The sucking-quieting phenomenon is apparently organized congenitally.