HM provided a clear protective effect against NEC , with an approximate 4 % reduction in incidence .
HM also provided a possible reduction in LOS , severe ROP and severe NEC .
Particularly for NEC , any volume of HM is better than EPTF , and the higher the dose the greater the protection .
Evidence regarding pasteurisation is inconclusive , but it appears to have no effect on some outcomes .
Improving the intake of mother ’s own milk ( MOM ) and /or donor HM results in small improvements in morbidity in this population
Early diet in preterm babies and developmental status in infancy.
Few data from r and omised prospect i ve studies address whether early diet influences later neurodevelopment in man . As part of a larger multicentre trial , 502 low birthweight infants were assigned r and omly , for a median of 30 days , to receive a preterm formula or unfortified donor breast milk as sole diets or as supplements to their mothers ' expressed milk . Surviving infants were assessed at nine months after their expected date of delivery without knowledge of their feeding regimen . The mean developmental quotient was 0.25 st and ard deviations lower in those fed donor breast milk rather than preterm formula . In infants fed their mother 's expressed milk , however , the disadvantage of receiving banked milk compared with preterm formula as a supplement , was greater when the supplement was over half the total intake , and approached five points , representing 0.5 st and ard deviations for developmental quotient . Infants fed donor breast milk were at particular disadvantage following fetal growth retardation , with developmental quotients 5.3 points lower . We suggest that the diet used for low birthweight babies over a brief , but perhaps critical , postnatal period has developmental consequences that persist into infancy ; infants who are small for gestational age are especially vulnerable to suboptimal postnatal nutrition
HM provided a clear protective effect against NEC , with an approximate 4 % reduction in incidence .
HM also provided a possible reduction in LOS , severe ROP and severe NEC .
Particularly for NEC , any volume of HM is better than EPTF , and the higher the dose the greater the protection .
Evidence regarding pasteurisation is inconclusive , but it appears to have no effect on some outcomes .
Improving the intake of mother ’s own milk ( MOM ) and /or donor HM results in small improvements in morbidity in this population