CLINICAL USEFULNESS OF MATERNAL ODOR IN NEWBORNS - SOOTHING AND FEEDING PREPARATORY RESPONSES

This study assessed the responsiveness of newborn breast- and bottle-f ed infants to presentations of maternal odor, Maternal odor was presen ted for 1 min to crying, sleeping or awake newborns. The odors were: ( 1) own mother's odor - presentation of a hospital gown worn by the bab y's mother, (2) other mother's odor - presentation of a hospital gown of another newborn baby's mother, (3) clean gown - presentation of a c lean hospital gown and (4) no gown - no gown presented. The results in dicated that crying babies stopped crying when either own mother or ot her mother odor was presented. Awake babies responded specifically to their own mother's odor by increasing mouthing, These results suggest that the practice of presenting the mother's odor to a distressed infa nt is of clinical usefulness since it was capable of attenuating cryin g. The results also characterized a role for maternal odor with respec t to feeding since presentation of the infant's own mother odor increa sed mouthing. Thus, presentation of maternal odor may also be useful i n enhancing nipple acceptance and feeding in newborns.