The Effect of Non-Nutritive Sucking and Maternal Milk Odor on the Independent Oral Feeding in Preterm Infants

Objectives: Given the positive effects of stimulation with breast milk odor and non-nutritive sucking (NNS) on preterm feeding skills, we examined the effect of NNS and milk odor, on the time of achieving independent oral feeding in preterm infants.

Materials & methods: This study was conducted at two Neonatal Intensive Care Units of Tehran, Iran in 2016. Overall, 32 neonates with gestational ages of 28-32 wk were enrolled in two groups; NNS with and without olfactory stimuli (breast milk odor). The simulations were performed in both groups during the first five minutes of gavage, three times per day, and over ten consecutive days. Weight gain, time of achieving oral feeding and chronological age at discharge were as measures of the effectiveness of the interventions. The results of the interventions were analyzed and compared using SPSS.18.

Results: NNS with breast milk odor resulted to a lower post-menstrual age at the first oral feeding, independent oral feeding and discharge from the hospital, but had no effects on their daily weight gain and weight at the time of discharge.

Conclusion: These results show the effectiveness of combining milk odor and NNS as two important stimuli in achieving oral feeding and earlier discharge from the hospital.