Neonatal cortical perceptions of maternal breast odours: A fNIRS study.

Acta Paediatr

Neonatal Research Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Published: July 2020

Aim: The aim was to determine whether preterm and full-term newborn infants could process maternal breast odour at a cortical level.

Methods: Newborn infants were exposed to cloths containing their own mother's breast odour and freshly laundered control cloths for 10 seconds, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy measured cortical activation in their olfactory processing areas. We studied 45 newborn infants born at 28-41 weeks of gestation and divided them into three groups: full-term (37-41 weeks), late preterm (33-36 weeks) and very preterm (28-32 weeks). Cortical activation was defined as a regional increase of oxyhaemoglobin following maternal breast odour stimuli.

Results: Full-term infants demonstrated bilateral activation of their olfactory cortices following exposure to maternal breast odour. Late preterm infants and very preterm boys exhibited unilateral cortical activation, unlike very preterm girls.

Conclusion: Infants born from 32 weeks, and possibly earlier, could process low concentration maternal odours at a cortical level, which suggests they were more aware of their environment. These findings could make a significant contribution to improving the sensory environment of preterm infants and improve bonding.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apa.15114DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

maternal breast
16
breast odour
16
newborn infants
12
cortical activation
12
activation olfactory
8
infants born
8
late preterm
8
preterm infants
8
preterm
7
infants
7

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!