2.1. Study Design and Participants
VLBW, congenital anomalies
METABOLIC DISEASES, CHROMOSOMAL DISORDERS
This is a randomized, controlled, double-blind study conducted in a level III NICU, at “Elena Venizelou” General and Maternal Hospital in Athens, Greece. VLBW infants with birth weight <1500 g and born to mothers who had agreed to feed their babies with donor milk for the first three weeks of life (donor milk period) if their own milk quantity was insufficient were enrolled in the study from April 2017 to August 2021. Infants were excluded if they had congenital anomalies, chromosomal disorders or metabolic diseases. Also, any infant fed with formula at any point during the donor milk period was not eligible to participate in the study.The Ethics Committee of “Elena Venizelou” General and Maternal Hospital approved the investigation and each infant’s parent provided written informed consent before participating in the study.