Abstract
The sucking ability of newborns was measured using an electronic manometer and analyzed for the following parameters: 1) sucking rate, 2) intraoral pressure, 3) continuous sucking time, 4) sucking time, and 5) actual sucking time. These five parameters were essentially the same among the normal newborns and it was also indicated that in the normal newborns, any difference was not exhibited by different feeding methods. The results also suggested that sucking was first of all an adequate stimulus of newborns to the mother's nipples. The sucking time was prolonged significantly in the newborns whose intraoral pressure during sucking maintained positive or alternately positive--negative for a while, but this prolongation was not recognizable on the 7th day of birth. The respiratory rate during sucking did not differ significantly from that immediately before or after sucking.
