Oropharyngeal Mother's Milk: State of the Science and Influence on Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Abstract

Oropharyngeal administration of mother's own milk-placing drops of milk directly onto the neonate's oral mucosa-may serve to (ex utero) mimic the protective effects of amniotic fluid for the extremely low birth weight infant; providing protection against necrotizing enterocolitis. This article presents current evidence to support biological plausibility for the use of OroPharyngeal Therapy with Mother's Own Milk (OPT-MOM) as an immunomodulatory therapy; an adjunct to enteral feeds of mother's milk administered via a nasogastric or orogastric tube. Current methods and techniques are reviewed, published evidence to guide clinical practice will be presented, and controversies in practice will be addressed.

Keywords: Breastmilk; Human milk; Mother’s own milk; NEC; Oral care; Oral immune; Oropharyngeal; Oropharyngeal colostrum; Oropharyngeal milk; Oropharyngeal therapy; Premature.