A Little Oil, a Little More Growth: What the Research Says About Massaging Premature Babies With Oil

A plain-language look at a large 2024 review that combined 18 studies to ask whether rubbing oil on a premature baby's skin helps them gain weight

Rubbing a gentle, everyday oil — such as sunflower or coconut oil — onto a premature baby's skin, often as part of a soft massage, appears to help the baby put on a little extra weight, according to a large 2024 review that pooled the results of many earlier studies. The added weight was modest, on the order of 40 to 80 grams, and side effects were rare. It is a simple, inexpensive practice that can be done almost anywhere, and it may be especially valuable in places where high-tech newborn care is hard to come by.

Why This Question Matters

Babies born too early — before 37 weeks of pregnancy — start life with a great deal of catching up to do. Around 15 million babies are born prematurely every year, and being small and growing slowly in the first weeks is linked to more health problems down the road [1][2]. A premature baby's skin is also very thin and delicate. Unlike the tougher skin of a full-term newborn, it lets heat and water escape easily and offers less protection against germs. Helping that skin do its job better is one way to give a fragile baby a stronger start.

That is where oil comes in. Putting a thin layer of oil on the skin can act a bit like a protective coat, holding in warmth and moisture. When a baby stays warmer and loses less water, the baby's body can spend less energy just keeping stable — and more energy on growing.

There may be a second reason oil helps, too. Certain plant oils, like sunflower oil, contain natural fats that the skin can absorb and use to build a stronger, more mature barrier. And the gentle massage that usually goes along with the oil is itself soothing: calm, loving touch can help a baby settle, feed better, and release the natural signals the body uses to grow. In other words, the oil and the massage may work together — one protecting the skin, the other comforting the baby.

For parents, growth is often the number everyone watches. A steady climb on the weight chart is one of the things a care team looks for before a baby can go home, so anything that gently nudges that climb upward, without adding risk, is worth understanding.

An Old Practice, Tested in a New Way

Massaging babies with oil is not new. In many parts of South Asia and Africa, families have gently oiled and massaged their newborns for generations as an ordinary part of care. What is new is that doctors have put the practice to the test in careful studies. Decades ago, researchers noticed that oiled skin seemed to protect fragile premature babies, and they began running proper trials. Studies in Egypt and Bangladesh found that sunflower oil and other emollients lowered the risk of dangerous infections in premature babies [3][4][5], and a review of research from lower-income countries suggested the practice could help with growth and survival where incubators and specialised feeding were scarce [6]. But each study on its own was small, used different oils, and measured growth in different ways, so no one could say clearly how much oil actually helped a baby grow. The 2024 review was built to answer exactly that question by combining the studies together [1].

What the Researchers Did and Found

Instead of enrolling new babies, the researchers gathered every good-quality randomised trial they could find — the kind of study where babies are randomly assigned to receive oil or usual care, which is the fairest way to compare. They started with more than 2,700 possible studies and narrowed them to 18 trials involving 1,454 premature babies. Fourteen of those trials, covering just over 1,000 babies, had the weight information needed to combine [1].

When the numbers were pooled, babies who received oil gained about 52 grams more than babies who did not — roughly the weight of a small egg [1]. Because studies varied so much, the researchers double-checked their answer in two ways. Setting aside two unusual studies pushed the figure up to about 79 grams; adjusting for the possibility that some studies with disappointing results were never published pulled it down to about 43 grams. Either way, the direction was the same: a small but real gain.

Two details stood out. First, the type of oil mattered: sunflower and coconut oils were linked to the best results, matching separate trials of coconut oil in very premature babies [7][8]. Second, how often the oil was applied mattered even more: babies massaged three times a day gained the most, which fits earlier studies showing that regular, gentle oil massage helped small babies grow [9][10]. This hints that the loving, hands-on massage itself — not just the oil — is part of what helps.

Reassuringly, side effects were uncommon. Of the studies that looked for problems, only two reported anything at all: a little skin rash, and a baby accidentally slipping during handling because the skin was slippery. No serious harms were linked to the oil [1].

It helps to keep the size of the benefit in perspective. About 52 grams is a small amount — less than two ounces — and it builds up gradually rather than overnight. It will not, on its own, transform a baby's stay in the unit, and it is not a treatment for any illness. What makes it appealing is the combination: a real, measurable nudge in the right direction, a very low chance of harm, almost no cost, and a way for parents to be gently involved in their baby's care. For families in parts of the world without easy access to advanced newborn units, that combination is especially meaningful, because oil and caring hands are available almost everywhere.

What This Means for Families

If your baby is in a neonatal unit, this research offers a gentle, hopeful message: something as simple as a daily oil massage may give your baby a small boost in growth, and it is very unlikely to cause harm [1]. It is not a replacement for the careful feeding and medical care your baby's team provides — good nutrition remains the main engine of growth — but it can be a welcome addition. Many units are happy to teach parents how to give the massage themselves, which is a beautiful way to be close to your baby, to bond through touch, and to feel that you are actively helping. General guidance for newborn skin care stresses using a gentle product and a gentle technique, and avoiding oil on any broken or irritated skin [11].

If you would like to try it, ask your baby's nurse or doctor first. They can tell you whether it is right for your baby's stage and skin, which oil the unit prefers, and how to do it safely around monitors, lines, and dressings. There are sensible reasons a team might wait: a very tiny or very sick baby, or a baby whose skin is broken or irritated, may need to grow a little sturdier first. The studies behind this research mostly involved stable, growing premature babies rather than those who were critically ill in their first days, so timing matters [1].

A few small practical points also make the massage safer and more comfortable. The oil should be clean and gentle — the kind meant for delicate skin — and warmed slightly to body temperature so it does not feel cold. A good moment is during skin-to-skin "kangaroo care," when your baby is already calm against your chest; the closeness and the massage reinforce each other. And there is no need to rush or press hard: slow, gentle strokes are what the research describes, and what babies respond to best [9].

What Researchers Are Working On Next

The evidence, while encouraging, still has gaps. Most of the studies came from South Asia and the Middle East, and very few from Africa — even though that is where a cheap, simple practice like this could help the most. Researchers would like to run larger, better-matched trials that use the same oil in the same way, follow babies for longer, and measure not just weight but length, head growth, and long-term development. A recent trial of oil therapy in premature and low-birth-weight babies has already reported promising results and shows these studies can be done well [12]. For now, the takeaway is simple and warm: a little oil, applied gently and often, seems to help premature babies grow a little more — and lets families take part in the care [1].

References

  1. Getaneh FB, Mohammed A, Belete AG, Muche A, Ayres A, Asmamaw Y, et al. Effect of topical emollient oil application on weight of preterm newborns: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE. 2024;19(5):e0302969. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0302969 ↩
  2. Chawanpaiboon S, Vogel JP, Moller AB, et al. Global, regional, and national estimates of levels of preterm birth in 2014: a systematic review and modelling analysis. Lancet Glob Health. 2019;7(1):e37–e46. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30451-030451-0) ↩
  3. Darmstadt GL, Badrawi N, Law PA, et al. Topically applied sunflower seed oil prevents invasive bacterial infections in preterm infants in Egypt: a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2004;23(8):719–725. doi:10.1097/01.inf.0000133047.50836.6f ↩
  4. Darmstadt GL, Saha SK, Ahmed ASMNU, et al. Effect of topical emollient treatment of preterm neonates in Bangladesh on invasion of pathogens into the bloodstream. Pediatr Res. 2007;61(5):588–593. doi:10.1203/pdr.0b013e3180459f75 ↩
  5. Salam RA, Darmstadt GL, Bhutta ZA. Effect of emollient therapy on clinical outcomes in preterm neonates in Pakistan: a randomised controlled trial. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2015;100(3):F210–F215. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2014-307157 ↩
  6. Salam RA, Das JK, Darmstadt GL, Bhutta ZA. Emollient therapy for preterm newborn infants — evidence from the developing world. BMC Public Health. 2013;13(Suppl 3):S31. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-S3-S31 ↩
  7. Konar MC, Islam K, Roy A, Ghosh T. Effect of virgin coconut oil application on the skin of preterm newborns: a randomized controlled trial. J Trop Pediatr. 2020;66(2):129–135. doi:10.1093/tropej/fmz041 ↩
  8. Strunk T, Pupala S, Hibbert J, Doherty D, Patole S. Topical coconut oil in very preterm infants: an open-label randomised controlled trial. Neonatology. 2018;113(2):146–151. doi:10.1159/000480538 ↩
  9. Kumar J, Upadhyay A, Dwivedi AK. Effect of oil massage on growth in preterm neonates less than 1800 g: a randomized control trial. Indian J Pediatr. 2013;80(6):465–469. doi:10.1007/s12098-012-0869-7 ↩
  10. Fallah R, Akhavan Karbasi S, Golestan M, Fromandi M. Sunflower oil versus no oil moderate pressure massage leads to greater increases in weight in preterm neonates who are low birth weight. Early Hum Dev. 2013;89(9):769–772. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.06.002 ↩
  11. Ness MJ, Davis DMR, Carey WA. Neonatal skin care: a concise review. Int J Dermatol. 2013;52(1):14–22. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2012.05687.x ↩
  12. Jamshaid AA, Hamid MH, Fatima T, Noor M, Wasim A. Emollient therapy in preterm and low birth weight neonates: a randomised clinical trial. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2021;31(3):298–301. doi:10.29271/JCPSP.2021.03.298 ↩