Solely human milk diets for preterm infants.

Area of Science:

• Neonatal nutrition
• Pediatric immunology
• Infant health

Background:

• Human milk is vital for infant nutrition and immunity.
• Preterm infants cannot receive milk naturally, requiring alternatives like pumped milk, donor milk, or fortifiers.
• Current clinical practices rely on these alternatives for preterm infant nutrition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the benefits of human milk and its components in preterm infant care.
• To assess the impact of different human milk feeding strategies on infant morbidities.
• To compare human milk-based interventions with formula and bovine milk-based fortifiers.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on human milk, donor milk, and human milk fortifiers in preterm infants.
• Analysis of data on necrotizing enterocolitis, retinopathy of prematurity, late-onset sepsis, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
• Comparison of outcomes between exclusive human milk diets, supplemented diets, and formula feeding.

Main Results:

• Maternal and donor human milk reduced necrotizing enterocolitis risk compared to formula.
• Exclusive human milk diets decreased severe retinopathy of prematurity, with human milk-based fortifiers showing greater effect.
• Higher human milk intake correlated with reduced late-onset sepsis and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, though not always significant in exclusive human milk diet studies.

Conclusions:

• Human milk feeding strategies significantly improve outcomes for preterm infants.
• Exclusive human milk diets and human milk-based fortifiers are crucial for reducing specific morbidities.
• Further research may clarify optimal human milk dosing for all preterm infant morbidities.