Abstract
Objectives
Quantify associations of human milk feeding with in-hospital growth and examine differences by human milk type (maternal or donor).
Study design
We included infants born <33 weeks’ gestation and <1500 g from 9 Neonatal Intensive Care Units (n = 1429). We estimated associations of percent of visit days fed any human milk (maternal or donor) and percent of days fed donor milk with weight, length, and head z-scores at discharge or transfer using a linear mixed model, adjusting for birth size and other covariates.
Results
Any human milk feeding was not associated with growth outcomes. Infants fed donor milk on ≥50% of days had less favorable growth vs. those fed <50% [z-scores—weight: −1.1 vs. −0.7 (p = 0.04); length: −1.5 vs. −1.1 (p = 0.04); head −1.0 vs. −0.3 (p < 0.01)].
Conclusions
Fortified human milk was not associated with impaired growth compared with preterm formula.
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Acknowledgements
Neonatal Quality Improvement Collaborative of Massachusetts (NeoQIC) includes: Bay State Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, South Shore Hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center, and UMass Medical Center.
Funding
The study is supported by the CDC (1U38PD005373) and W.K. Kellogg Foundation (P3031871).
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MB, MP, and MG conceptualized the project. MB developed the research plan. BS and PM conducted the statistical analysis. MB, BS, MP, PM, and MG contributed to interpretation of the results. BS drafted the manuscript. MB, MP, PM and MG critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors are responsible for the final content of the manuscript.
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MB and MP report that they are volunteer members of the Research Advisory Board of the Mother’s Milk Bank Northeast (USA). We have no other conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Soldateli, B., Parker, M., Melvin, P. et al. Human milk feeding and physical growth in very low-birth-weight infants: a multicenter study. J Perinatol 40, 1246–1252 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-0705-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-0705-2
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