Association of Weight of Premature Infant and Aromatherapy: A Systematic Review

Few studies assessed the association of weight of premature infant and aromatherapy as a secondary outcome. Aim of study was to evaluate all clinical trials on the association of weight of premature infant and aromatherapy.

All clinical trials evaluating the association of weight of premature infant and aromatherapy with the alleviation of pain were searched on the electronic databases of Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science and Medline (via PubMed) with no language or time restrictions till  December 26, 2019. Jadad scale as a valid and reliable tool was applied to assess the quality of included studies.

Finally, five studies with a total of 367 participants were enrolled in this systematic review. In the first study over that time interval, the mean daily weight gains did not differ significantly between the infants in the milk versus water-exposure conditions. In the second study the evaluation of the mean weight of subjects at discharge and the mean weight gained between hospitalization and discharge showed that there were no significant differences between the study and control groups. In third study, the infants' weight did not differ significantly among three groups: vanilla, placebo and rose. In the fourth study, the mean weight of preterm infants at discharge and between hospitalization and discharge showed no significant difference between two groups’ impregnated pad with breast milk and control. In the fifth study, combining milk odor and nonnutritive sucking (NNS) than single NNS were effect in achieving oral feeding and earlier discharge from the hospital.

Aromatherapy with a single oil or a combination of two or more aroma oils, were not effective on weight among high-risk and vulnerable infant, such as preterm infant and very low birth weight, there is a need for more accurate and robust future studies.