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Improved growth of preterm infants receiving mother's own raw milk compared with pasteurized donor milk

N Montjaux-Régis1, C Cristini, C Arnaud

  • 1Unit of Neonatology, Hôpital des enfants, Toulouse, France.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|June 29, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Mother's own raw milk significantly improves weight gain in preterm infants compared to donor milk. Strategies to enhance maternal milk production are recommended for better infant growth.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Human Milk Research

Background:

  • Preterm infants often require specialized nutrition to support growth and development.
  • The source of breast milk (mother's own vs. donor milk) may influence outcomes in premature infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between the proportion of maternal milk intake and infant growth, feeding tolerance, and infectious events in preterm infants.
  • To compare the effects of maternal milk versus pooled pasteurized donor milk on preterm infant outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective observational study involving 55 preterm infants (born <32 weeks gestational age) exclusively on enteral feeds.
  • Infants received a combination of maternal milk and/or donor milk, with data collected over two 6-month periods.

Main Results:

  • A positive correlation was found between the proportion of maternal milk consumed and weight gain (g/kg/day) in preterm infants (p = 0.0048).
  • Higher intake of maternal milk was inversely correlated with the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis.
  • Maternal milk intake did not significantly impact infectious events.

Conclusions:

  • Mother's own raw milk intake is associated with improved weight gain in preterm infants compared to donor milk.
  • Findings suggest the importance of supporting and increasing maternal milk production for optimizing preterm infant nutrition and growth.
Abstract

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