Enhancing Human Milk Production With Domperidone in Mothers of Preterm Infants

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Mothers of preterm infants often struggle with insufficient milk supply.
• Domperidone is a common galactogogue, but clinical guidance on its use is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of early domperidone administration in increasing milk volume for mothers of preterm infants.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 90 mothers of infants born at or before 29 weeks gestation.
• Group A received domperidone for 28 days; Group B received placebo for 14 days followed by domperidone for 14 days.

Main Results:

• After 14 days, 77.8% of mothers in Group A achieved a 50% increase in milk volume, versus 57.8% in Group B (OR 2.56, p=.04).
• The odds of achieving a 50% milk volume increase were significantly higher with early domperidone initiation.

Conclusions:

• Early domperidone treatment (within 21 days postpartum) is more effective in increasing human milk volume for mothers of preterm infants.
• While effective, the absolute increase in milk volume was modest.