Could a gentle feeding technique help shield premature babies from stress?

This small, completed pilot study tested whether a special feeding method called M-MILK is practical and acceptable for parents and nurses to use with premature babies. The method involves giving tiny amounts of breast milk in the baby's mouth while also providing comforting touch and smell during tube feedings. The main goal was to gather information to plan a larger future study that would test if this method can help reduce early stress and improve development in these vulnerable infants.