PIOMI Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention

02/11/2026

Proud to have PIOMI LLC featured on Nurse Innovator Row!

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24/10/2026

🎉 NEXT WEEK! OCTOBER 29–30! 🎉

🌎 COME SEE PIOMI®!

Join us at the ANCC Magnet Pathway & Leadership Conference!

💡 PIOMI® WILL BE FEATURED ON NURSE INNOVATOR ROW!

📍 BOOTH #1287
Exhibit Halls A1–A2 | Level 3

✨ Discover how PIOMI® is advancing evidence-based care for premature infants and supporting the future of neonatal practice.

Stop by and say hello! We can’t wait to see you! 💙



Company BIO:
www.PIOMI.com

About PIOMI LLC (Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention)

PIOMI® = Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention
Purpose: Train preterm infants early feeding skills to reduce prolonged length of hospital stays, supporting value based healthcare.
PIOMI LLC is an international healthcare training and consultation company dedicated to improving outcomes for premature and medically fragile infants through evidence-based oral feeding therapy. Developed by Dr. Brenda Knoll, the Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI®) is the most researched and most widely implemented oral motor intervention for premature infants in NICUs around the world. PIOMI is a simple, low cost, 5 minute therapy requiring no equipment and can be provided by nurses, therapists, and parents. Every year, thousands of premature infants have an unnecessarily prolonged hospitalization, because they are not yet able to feed safely and efficiently by mouth, which is typically the final gateway to NICU discharge. These "feeders and growers" often remain in the NICU for additional days or even weeks with underdeveloped feeding skills, resulting in prolonged hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, reduced NICU capacity, and delayed family reunification. PIOMI addresses one of the most common—and costly—barriers to discharge. Studies have demonstrated an average reduction in NICU length of stay of approximately five days following implementation of PIOMI. With the median cost of a NICU day approaching $3,800, even modest reductions in length of stay can translate into tens of thousands of dollars in avoided hospital costs per infant, while simultaneously increasing NICU capacity, improving patient flow and efficient allocation of staffing, and enhancing the patient and family experience. This evidence-based feeding intervention provides hospitals with a meaningful opportunity to improve both clinical outcomes and financial stewardship.

PIOMI supports key value-based care metrics, including:
-Reduced NICU length of stay
-Earlier achievement of full oral feeding
-Improved feeding outcomes and feeding efficiency
-Higher breastfeeding rates at discharge
-Improved parent and family satisfaction
-Standardized, evidence-based feeding practices
-Reduced variation in clinical practice
-Lower cost per patient episode
-Increased NICU capacity through earlier discharge
-Earlier discharge home with families
-Improved neurodevelopmental assessment scores in neonatal follow-up clinics

PIOMI equips nurses, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, physicians, and other neonatal professionals with a standardized, evidence-based approach to promoting feeding readiness. International research consistently demonstrates that PIOMI supports earlier feeding readiness, accelerates progression to full oral feeding, shortens hospital length of stay, improves breastfeeding outcomes, and improves neurodevelopmental milestone scores post-discharge into early childhood.

PIOMI LLC offers:
-International PIOMI Certification Courses (in-person and virtual)
-Sample Protocols for PIOMI Implementation
-Hospital implementation and quality improvement consultation
-PIOMI Provider Certification and Train-the-Trainer programs
-Continuing education for neonatal professionals worldwide
-Implementation strategies to standardize evidence-based feeding practices across NICUs
-Training materials in 17 languages
-Online repository of up to date published data on PIOMI
-PIOMI Companion App for networking among PIOMI users
-PIOMI Companion Chatbot for post-training questions and support

Today, PIOMI is taught and practiced in hospitals across the United States and in over 50 countries worldwide, helping NICUs standardize care, improve quality metrics, reduce variation in practice, enhance family-centered feeding outcomes, and support value-based healthcare initiatives.

12/10/2026

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29/09/2026

REGISTER TODAY! SPECIAL WEEKDAY TIME!!!
It's not too late to join the WEDNESDAY MORNING 3-hour PIOMI Training Webinar THIS WEEK on Sept 30th! Register online at: piomi.com/webinars

26/09/2026

Join us tomorrow for Week 1 of Fall 2026 Journal Club! This week we will be discussing feeding.

Journal Club begins at 7:00pm CST and you MUST join the Zoom call by 7:10pm in order to be admitted into the session. Thank you for this attention to detail and punctuality! We look forward to seeing you!

Reminder: By attending NTCB® Journal Club, you receive a certificate of completion. Journal Club certificates count toward education requirements for the Neonatal Therapy Certification® application!

Be sure to register and review the articles here: https://linktr.ee/ntcb

21/09/2026

PIOMI is forever grateful for all of the brilliant minds of therapists worldwide who are practicing and researching the Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention. I CELEBRATE YOU ALL!!!!

15/09/2026

It is with profound gratitude that PIOMI recognizes and celebrates the contributions of Neonatal Nurses across the globe! We share your passion and are awed by your dedication to improving neonatal feeding. 💙

01/09/2026

Surface EMG (Electromyography) used to assess impact of PIOMI on orofacial muscle activity! The sEMG amplitudes increased significantly for the masseter (20.96–52.79 μV, P < .001), zygomatic (29.07–69.56 μV, P < .001), and orbicularis oris (20.97–73.36 μV, P < .001). HOW EXCITING to see this work published with my long time colleagues in Iran!

Background:
Premature infants frequently experience feeding difficulties because of immature oral–motor coordination. The Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI) has been shown to improve feeding skills, but objective evidence regarding its effects on orofacial muscle activity remains limited.

Purpose:
To evaluate the effects of PIOMI on orofacial muscle activity and feeding outcomes in premature infants with feeding disorders.

Methods:
This pilot study was conducted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Mazandaran, Iran. Ten premature infants (gestational age 29–36 weeks; mean 32.4 ± 2.1; birth weight 1706 ± 476 g) received daily PIOMI sessions for 7 days by a trained speech therapist. Orofacial muscle activity (masseter, zygomatic, and orbicularis oris) was measured using surface electromyography (sEMG) at rest and during non-nutritive sucking. Oral-motor skills were assessed with the Preterm Infant Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale (POFRAS), and milk intake volume was recorded.

Results:
All infants completed the intervention in March 2025 without adverse events. The sEMG amplitudes increased significantly for the masseter (20.96–52.79 μV, P < .001), zygomatic (29.07–69.56 μV, P < .001), and orbicularis oris (20.97–73.36 μV, P < .001). POFRAS scores improved from 12.10 ± 3.38 to 20.70 ± 5.60 (P < .001), and milk intake from 40.00 ± 6.66 mL to 45.00 ± 18.40 mL (P < .001).

Implications for Practice and Research:
PIOMI enhances orofacial muscle activity and feeding skills in premature infants. These findings support sEMG as an objective evaluation tool and provide preliminary evidence for larger clinical trials.

Background:Premature infants frequently experience feeding difficulties because of immature oral–motor coordination. The Premature Infant Oral Motor...

29/08/2026

We have 13 more PIOMI Providers across 7 countries (USA, China, India, Kuwait, Philippines, Turkey & Slovenia) who trained with me today to implement PIOMI in their NICUs and Clinics. CONGRATULATIONS! And we launched the new PIOMI COMPANION! An AI Chatbot created by LatticeTalk AI™ that answers any questions about PIOMI Training in 95 languages. We are excited to offer this new "on the ground" support tool for PIOMI users.

The NEXT PIOMI Training Webinar takes place on October 17th! Register at piomi.com/webinars

14/07/2026

❓ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐌𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?

If your baby is born preterm, feeding may be one of your biggest early challenges. Many preterm babies need time to learn how to coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing. That’s where PIOMI comes in. 💜

💡 PIOMI stands for Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention. This gentle, 5-minute therapy is used in the NICU to support feeding skills in preterm babies, often starting around 29 weeks of development.

👐 What does PIOMI involve?
Trained healthcare professionals gently stimulate the lips, cheeks, tongue, and gums with a gloved pinky finger.

This mimics the oral experiences a baby would have in the womb and can help strengthen the muscles and coordination needed for oral feeding.

👶 How can PIOMI help?
Research shows that preterm babies who receive PIOMI may experience:
🔹 Earlier readiness to start oral feeding
🔹 Faster transition to full oral feedings (less time on tubes)
🔹 Shorter hospital stays
🔹 Improved coordination of sucking, swallowing, and breathing
🔹 Better breastfeeding success, even months after discharge

Some studies also suggest more sustained breastfeeding at one year of age.

🌱 More than just feeding support
Feeding is closely linked to a baby’s overall development. That’s why PIOMI may also contribute to:
🔹 Better fine and gross motor development
🔹 Improved language and social-emotional skills
🔹 Stronger neurodevelopmental outcomes in the first year

✨ Why is this important?
For many preterm babies, feeding is one of the biggest milestones before going home. PIOMI can give them a gentle head start – supporting their transition to oral feeding step by step, and at their own pace. 💗