Beker F, Liley HG, Hughes IP, et al. - The regular smell and taste of milk combined with tube feeding did not improve preterm infants' weight at discharge in this randomized clinical trial. Secondary findings indicate that exposure to smell and taste may improve head circumference and length at 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age (PMA), but not at discharge. Regular exposure to the smell and taste of milk is a low-cost, low-risk intervention with possible benefits and no side effects.

• A total of 396 infants were randomized out of a total of 658 infants; some parents were not approached for consent (n = 144) or denied participation (n = 117), and 1 infant with consent was not randomized.

• The treatment group consisted of 196 infants (51% male; mean [SD] PMA at birth, 27.5 [2.2] weeks) and the control group consisted of 200 infants (52% male; mean [SD] PMA at birth, 27.6 (2.3) weeks).

• The treatment group's mean weight z scores at discharge were 0.87, while the control group's were 0.97.

• At 36 weeks of PMA, the mean difference in z scores between the treatment and control groups was 0.21 in head circumference and 0.26 in length.

• For any other anthropometric, feeding, or health outcomes, no clinically significant differences existed between the study groups.