The Effect of Breast Milk Odor on Transition Time From Gavage to Oral Feeding and Hospital Stay in Premature Infants

Abstract

We examined the effects of breast milk smell on transition time from gavage to oral feeding and hospital stay in premature infants. There were 92 premature infants younger than 33 weeks who were randomly selected and sequentially allocated to the following groups: control (n = 46) and intervention (n = 46). This experimental study was undertaken in 2 neonatal intensive care units located in Vali Asr and Jamee Zanan educational hospitals in Tehran, Iran. We collected data from April 6 until September 6, 2013, over 4.5 months. Participants’ demographic data were extracted from their medical records. The findings of the study indicated that the use of an impregnated pad with breast milk, which was used for olfactory stimulation, reduced premature infants’ transition feeding time by 10 days in the intervention group compared with the control group. The length of hospitalization was also reduced by 12 days in the intervention group compared with the control group. The study results suggested that neonatal intensive care unit nurses should train mothers in the performance of this simple, inexpensive method to improve the quality of care provided to premature infants and reduce feeding transition time from gavage to oral feeding.

The Effect of Breast Milk Odor on Feeding Cues, Transition Time to Oral Feeding, and Abdominal Perfusion in Premature Newborns: A Randomised Controlled Trial

“…Here, we determined that odor stimulation with BM did not create a statistical difference between the IG and CG in terms of discharge times. However, in two studies with similar methodology as this study, premature newborns who were administered BM odor were discharged earlier than those who did not (Iranmanesh et al, 2015; Yildiz et al, 2011).…”

“…Odor stimulation was started 1 min before the start of enteral feeding and was continued until the feeding finished. Sterile gauze dripping with BM was placed in the incubator close to the newborn’s nasal septum (1.5–2 cm) (Iranmanesh et al, 2015) and not touching the newborn’s skin (Figure 4). Odor stimulation was conducted with the incubator covers closed so that the premature newborns in the incubator did not experience heat loss.…”

The effect of inhaling mother’s breast milk odor on the behavioral responses to pain caused by hepatitis B vaccine in preterm infants: a randomized clinical trial

“…Familiar odors, maternal odor for instance, supposedly have soothing effects on newborn infants. It is widely known that infants have the ability to detect their mother’s breast odor even without experiencing breastfeeding at birth [ 8 ]. The breast milk odor (BMO) can enhance infants’ sucking through the facial and trigeminal motor nerves in the brain, which, in turn, stabilizes the physiological state in infants [ 9 ].…”

The Effect of Inhaling Mother’s Breast Milk Odor on the Behavioral Responses to Pain Caused by Hepatitis B Vaccine in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Familiar odors for neonates such as maternal odor have soothing effects on the neonate. The human infant has the ability to detect the mother's breast odor without experiencing breastfeeding on the rst day of life (10). On the other hand, the smell sense affects the neonate's emotional relationship with his/her mother (11).…”