Trial reportArchives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition2006
Randomised, double blind trial of oxytocin nasal spray in mothers expressing breast milk for preterm infants.
Trial report in Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Testing the Efficacy of Intranasal Oxytocin for the Prevention of Postpartum Depression and PTSD
The Effect of Intranasal Oxytocin on Pain Sensitivity and Threshold: A Randomized, Double Blinded, Crossover Volunteer Study
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and outcomes of breast milk expressing in women with healthy term infants: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2013Pooled it
- Medications for increasing milk supply in mothers expressing breastmilk for their preterm hospitalised infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Infants admitted to neonatal units--interventions to improve breastfeeding outcomes: a systematic review 1990-2007.Maternal & child nutrition · 2008Pooled it
- First-in-Human Study of Merotocin, a Short-Acting Peptidic Oxytocin Receptor Agonist for Lactation Support.Clinical pharmacology in drug development · 2025Trial
- The effect of Pimpinella Anisum herbal tea on human milk volume and weight gain in the preterm infant: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Trial
- The influence of oxytocin administration on responses to infant faces and potential moderation by OXTR genotype.Psychopharmacology · 2012Trial
- Breastfeeding in panhypopituitarism: a case report, review of the literature, and management checklist.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Review
- Therapeutic peptides and proteins: Status and developments in drug delivery.Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2026Review
- Article
- The Comprehensive Neural Mechanism of Oxytocin in Analgesia.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Review
- Human-Animal Interaction and Perinatal Mental Health: A Narrative Review of Selected Literature and Call for Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Does Breastfeeding Reduce Stress, or Does Stress Reduce Breastfeeding?Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine · 2020Article
- What Evidence Do We Have for Pharmaceutical Galactagogues in the Treatment of Lactation Insufficiency?-A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2019Review
- Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Pup Deprivation-Evoked Aberrant Maternal Behavior and Hypogalactia in Rat Dams and the Underlying Mechanisms.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Article
- Methods of milk expression for lactating women.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Review
- Article
- Pharmacological overview of galactogogues.Veterinary medicine international · 2014Review
- Intranasal administration of oxytocin: behavioral and clinical effects, a review.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2013Article
- REVIEW: Oxytocin: Crossing the bridge between basic science and pharmacotherapy.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2010Review
- Ligand-based peptide design and combinatorial peptide libraries to target G protein-coupled receptors.Current pharmaceutical design · 2010Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHuman milk has considerable short and long term benefits for preterm infants, but mothers may experience difficulties in expressing breast milk for infants too immature or sick to breast feed. Oxytocin has been used to assist breast feeding and milk expression, but few data are available to support this intervention in the neonatal unit setting.
aimTo test the hypothesis that oxytocin nasal spray increases early milk output in mothers expressing milk for preterm infants.
methodsA randomised, double blind trial of oxytocin nasal spray (100 microl per dose) versus placebo was conducted in mothers delivering infants <35 weeks gestation. Sprays were used before expression of milk using an electric pump up to day 5. MAIN OUTCOME: Total weight of milk expressed while using spray (study powered to detect >1SD difference between groups). SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Pattern of milk production; number of pumping sessions; weight/fat content of milk expressed during a fixed 20 minute period on day 5 ("physiological study"); mother's opinion of expressing and spray assessed by questionnaire.
resultsFifty one mothers were randomised (27 oxytocin, 24 placebo). Total milk production did not differ between groups. Repeated measures analysis of variance suggested significantly (p = 0.001) different patterns of milk production, with initial faster production in the oxytocin group then convergence between groups. Parity did not influence the response to the intervention. No significant differences were seen in milk weight or fat content in the physiological study nor in mothers' opinions of milk expression and treatment.
conclusionsDespite marginal differences in the pattern of early milk production, the use of oxytocin nasal spray did not significantly improve outcome. Most mothers believed they were receiving the active spray, suggesting a significant placebo effect (supported by limited data from historical controls) and benefits from the extra breast feeding support available during the study.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.