Cost and Use of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk at a Children’s Hospital

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ObjectiveTo determine the cost and use of pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) at a children’s hospital with a strong human milk culture.DesignA retrospective descriptive cohort study.SettingA children’s hospital in the northeastern region of the United States.ParticipantsInfants (N = 281) younger than 1 year of age at the time of hospitalization who received PDHM between January 2011 and November 2014. Infants older than 1 year of age at the time of hospitalization were excluded from the study sample.MethodsFor each eligible infant, the following descriptive characteristics were abstracted from the electronic health record: gestational age, birth weight, primary diagnosis, unit/floor, total volume of PDHM fed to infant, total number of days the infant received PDHM, diet order on day of discharge, and total length of stay in days. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze all data.ResultsOf the sample, 70% (n = 197/281) were cared for in the NICU and 30% (n = 84/281) were cared for outside of the NICU. The mean number of days an infant received PDHM was 23 days (range = 1–134 days) and the mean volume consumed daily was 195 ml (range = 6–1,335 ml). Using a purchase cost of U.S. $4.50 per ounce, the average purchase cost of PDHM per day was U.S. $29.19 (range = U.S. $0.90 to U.S. $200.23).ConclusionPDHM is a low-cost intervention compared with many other interventions for the care of hospitalized infants.

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