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PROTOCOL ON GAVAGE FEEDING

Purpose​

To assure a safe and secure procedure, observe tube position and baby`s digestion.

Procedure​

Before feeding can start the position of the tube and the baby`s digestion are to be assessed. Observe quantity, colour and appearance of the content. If content is discoloured or you have other concerns ask doctor on call before returning the content to the stomach. If half or more of last feeding is undigested, do not continue with the feed. If possible, put the baby on the right side or prone, and control again two hours later. If the stomach circumference has increased or if the stomach is hard to palpate, contact the doctor before gavage feed.

  1. Clean hands.
  2. Make sure the tube is properly secured.
  3. Use a 2, 5 ml syringe and aspirate the stomach content, including all air.
  4. Slowly return content to the stomach.
  5. Connect a 10 or 20 ml syringe to the tube and fill the syringe with milk.
  6. Give it a push with the plunger and allow the milk to run in slowly by gravity. The higher the syringe is held, the faster the milk will flow.
  7. Tube feeding should normally take between 10-15 minutes.
  8. Do not leave the baby unattended during the feed.
  9. Make sure the cap of the tube is properly secured when finished feeding.

If baby gets cyanotic, have fall in saturation and heart rate, or have apnoea stop feeding. Inform doctor on call before feeding continues.
All syringes are for one time use only. If there is a lack of syringes, make sure every baby have their own syringes. The syringes are to be kept under the baby`s bed and changed three times a day.

References​

Neonatal Intensive Care by Merenstein and Gardner, 7th edition (2011), Comprehensive Neonatal Nursing Care by Kenner and Lott (2014), Practical Procedures for the Newborn Nursery, A Manual for Physicians & Nurses, by Deorari, Paul, Singhal, Scotland and McMillan, Third Edition (2010) and Oslo University Hospital Procedure on Insertion of a Nasogastric Tube (2013).

Document Information​

Archived Version

Version: 1.0 (Archived)
Published: August 3, 2015
Contributors: Nurse Meena Nair and Nurse Helene Bjornstad
View: Current Version