Adequacy of expressed breast milk for early growth of preterm infants

Area of Science:

• Neonatal nutrition
• Pediatric growth studies
• Infant feeding practices

Background:

• Preterm infants often experience suboptimal growth.
• Cow's milk formula is a common nutritional source for preterm infants.
• Expressed breast milk is also utilized but its efficacy for growth requires evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the early postnatal growth of preterm infants fed expressed breast milk versus cow's milk formula.
• To assess the impact of feeding regimen on weight, linear, and head circumference growth.
• To determine the adequacy of expressed breast milk for very immature preterm infants.

Main Methods:

• A randomized study involving 68 preterm infants (28-32 weeks and 33-36 weeks gestational age).
• Infants were assigned to receive either expressed breast milk or a standard cow's milk formula (Ostermilk 1).
• Growth parameters (weight, length, head circumference) were measured over two 1-month periods (birth-1 month, 1-2 months).

Main Results:

• Infants in the younger gestational age group (28-32 weeks) fed expressed breast milk exhibited slower growth rates in the first month compared to formula-fed infants.
• Growth rates became comparable between the two feeding groups in the second month for all infants.
• Older preterm infants (33-36 weeks) showed similar growth rates regardless of feeding type across both periods.

Conclusions:

• Expressed breast milk alone appears inadequate to support optimal growth in very immature preterm infants during the early postnatal period.
• Nutritional strategies may need to be adjusted for preterm infants based on gestational age and feeding type.
• Further research into optimizing nutrition for preterm infant growth is warranted.