BackgroundOral care with mother's colostrum (OCC) for very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) preterm newborns may provide immune-protective effects that potentially reduce the risk of late-onset sepsis (LOS) and death. Our objective was to assess the effect of OCC on the risk of LOS and mortality in VLBW premature neonates.MethodsA single-center randomized clinical trial was conducted on 65 VLBW preterm neonates. The intervention was oral care administrated every 6 hours, starting in the first 24 hours of life and lasting for 5 days, using either own mother's colostrum (colostrum group) or sterile water (placebo group).ResultsNeonates in the colostrum group were significantly less likely to have LOS (62.5% vs 93.9%, RR = 0.66,