Human milk based fortifiers improve health outcomes for the smallest
premature babies
Researchers compare traditional cows milk based fortifiers with human
milk based alternative

Date:
August 12, 2020
Source:
University of Missouri-Columbia
Summary:
More than 380,000 babies are born prematurely in the United
States each year, according to the March of Dimes. 'Preemies' can
be severely underweight babies and struggle to get the nutrients
they need from breast milk alone, so neonatal intensive care units
provide an additional milk fortifier, either in the form of cow's
milk or manufactured from donor breast milk, to keep them healthy.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
More than 380,000 babies are born prematurely in the United States
each year, according to the March of Dimes. "Preemies" can be severely underweight babies and struggle to get the nutrients they need from breast
milk alone, so neonatal intensive care units provide an additional milk fortifier, either in the form of cow's milk or manufactured from donor
breast milk, to keep them healthy.


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Now, a new research study from the University of Missouri and University College in London suggests that using a human-based milk fortifier
has better health outcomes for severely underweight, premature babies
compared to traditional, cow-based milk fortifiers.

Jan Sherman, a professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing,
collaborated with Alan Lucas, a professor at University College in London,
to perform a meta-analysis on various studies involving more than 450
severely underweight, premature babies in the United States, Canada and
Austria who received either traditional cow-based milk fortifiers or human-based milk fortifiers.

By comparing their health outcomes, they found that the babies who
were fed cow milk fortifiers were more than three times as likely to
develop necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening intestine disease,
and more than twice as likely to develop retinopathy of prematurity,
an eye disorder that can lead to blindness.

"Everyone wants what's best for these underweight, premature babies,
and choosing the best type of milk fortifiers for feeding can help lead
to improved health outcomes," said Sherman. "Nearly half of neonatal
intensive care units in the United States, including the one at MU
Children's Hospital, are already using human-based milk fortifiers. If we
can reduce these cases of necrotizing enterocolitis, if we can preserve
their eye sight and reduce the risk of infection, that will benefit the
babies' health in the long term." Neonatal intensive care units can
use this research in evaluating the nutritional supplements they give
to severely underweight, premature babies, who have a higher risk of
death or disease than babies born after a full nine- month pregnancy.

"Our research is geared toward better understanding if we can avoid
cow's milk fortifiers while still feeding premature infants well," said
Lucas. "The most current evidence suggests that a diet with entirely
human milk and enriched feeds manufactured from donated human milk will
meet the nutritional needs of the baby without the potential negative
health effects that can come with a cow milk fortifier."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Missouri-Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


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Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812153642.htm

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