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Study identifier: NCT06417385 Synced from ClinicalTrials.gov · July 28, 2026
● Recruiting

taVNS-Paired Breastfeeding to Improve Breastfeeding at Discharge

Condition: Premature Birth · Breastfeeding, Exclusive · Feeding; Difficult, Newborn  ·  Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina

PhaseNA
Planned participants10
Who can joinAll sexes, 35 Weeks to no upper limit
Healthy volunteersYes

About this study

Investigators aim to improve the skills of premature or sick term infants in breastfeeding by boosting motor learning with transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation. Investigators will recruit 10 premature, ≥ 35 weeks gestational age, or convalescing sick term infants admitted to the NICU at MUSC to participate in this study. Infants will receive taVNS treatments once a day with breastfeeding's for up to 14 days. Before each treatment, the researcher will determine how much electrical stimulation is needed for the infant to feel a slight tingle without discomfort, and during daily treatment paired with breastfeeding the infant will continue to receive this level of electrical stimulation, coinciding with latching and sucking, repeated over the duration of the feed. Investigators will collect information about the pre- and post-feed weights, the length of time for each feed, and observations of latch, suck, and swallow techniques by the infant from parents and the lactation consultant. Investigators will also evaluate parental satisfaction associated with their infant's ability to breastfeed after taVNS by providing parental satisfaction surveys at the beginning, after 1 and 2 weeks, and at 3 months after the end of the study to assess infants' progress in and maintenance of breastfeeding abilities. If the pairing of breastfeeding with taVNS is able to result in improved outcomes of effective breastfeeding in infants in the neonatal intensive care units, this intervention could …

This description comes directly from the study's public registry record.

Talk to the study team

Haley Burdge  ·  8432144089  ·  burdge@musc.edu

Dorothea Jenkins  ·  jenkd@musc.edu

Always discuss trial participation with your own doctor first.

Locations (1)

Medical University of South Carolina Shawn Jenkins Children's HospitalCharleston, South Carolina, United StatesRecruiting

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Source record: clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06417385