Examining the Effect of Occupational Therapy-Based Parent Coaching on Feeding Problems in Children With a Preterm Birth

Examining the Effect of Occupational Therapy-Based Parent Coaching on Feeding Problems in Children With a History of Premature Birth

Feeding problems are common in children with a history of premature birth, and these problems continue into early childhood. Feeding problems are affected by many biopsychosocial factors, and the context in which feeding takes place and the attitudes and behaviors of parents can also be effective in the emergence or continuation of these problems. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effects of occupational therapy-based parent coaching intervention on mothers and their children, who are considered to be primarily responsible for the feeding of children in our country. 46 mothers with premature children will be included in our study and participants will be randomly assigned to intervention/control groups. Mothers will fill out a sociodemographic information form, Canadian Occupational Therapy Measure (COPM), Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale, Sensory Profile Questionnaire - Oral Sensory Processing Subtest, Family Feeding Strategies Scale and Parental Self-Efficacy Scale via Google forms. Mothers in the research group will be given online occupational therapy-based parent coaching training for 10 weeks. Second evaluations will be carried out after the training; Final evaluations will be applied after 1 month of follow-up.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Prematurity of the child (Birth week <37)
• The child is between 3-6 years old
• The mother must have the competence to use online platforms, technological tools and internet connection.
• The mother must have sufficient education to read, understand and fill out the scales.
• Mothers reporting complaints about feeding problems in their children

Exclusion Criteria:

• It may affect the child's feeding; Having a food allergy, disability, neurodevelopmental disease, chromosomal or structural anomalies
• The child is fed non-orally
• Being receiving occupational therapy, oral motor therapy or nutritional therapy at any center
• Not allowing practices such as video sharing, camera/audio sharing, and recording of sessions during the intervention.