Should We Be Orally Feeding Infants on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or High-Flow Nasal Cannula?

There has been a recent trend in NICUs to start oral feeding for infants on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC). The purpose of this article is to evaluate the current research on the safety of oral feeding while on CPAP or HFNC and explore whether there are data to support the idea that feeding on CPAP or HFNC reduces the time to full oral feeding or time to discharge. The current literature suggests that feeding on CPAP is unsafe. There are no data on the safety of feeding on HFNC. For most infants, initiating oral feeds while on CPAP and/or HFNC does not lead to earlier attainment of full oral feeds or earlier discharge. Additional research is needed to further evaluate the safety of oral feeding on CPAP and HFNC in a valid and reliable way

Author: Britt Pados

Publication information: In Practice, doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2026.02.004

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