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).