1. Introduction
milk, Human milk, preterm donor milk, Breast milk fortifier, VLBW, term-born
GROUP B
This randomized study investigates whether feeding very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with mother’s own milk (MOM) supplemented with either preterm (PDM) or term donor milk (TDM), when MOM is insufficient, has a positive impact on infants’ protein intake and growth. A hundred and twenty VLBW infants were randomized into two groups. Group A (43 infants) received MOM supplemented with PDM, whereas Group B (77 infants) was fed with MOM supplemented with TDM, for the first three weeks of life (donor milk period). Breast milk fortifier was added when milk feeds exceeded 50 mL/Kg/day. After the donor milk period, both groups were fed with formula when MOM was not available or the milk bank was unable to provide TDM. Protein intake was higher in Group A than in Group B at initiation of milk fortification (Human milk is the best nutritional option for infants, especially those born preterm [Nowadays, many maternity hospitals have organized milk banks in order to cater the needs of premature infants. Donor milk is primarily derived from mothers of term-born infants for the first six months of lactation [According to ESPGHAN guidelines, VLBW infants have high needs of protein intake soon after birth [We hypothesized that feeding VLBW infants with preterm donor milk (PDM) in combination with MOM may positively influence the protein intake and, consequently, the infants’ growth. The aim of the current study was to assess whether MOM supplementation with PDM has any beneficial effects on energy and protein intake and growth in VLBW infants.