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
The effect of maternal milk on neonatal morbidity of very low-birth-weight infants.
OBJECTIVE To examine the dose effect of maternal milk on  neonatal morbidity of very low-birth-weight ( < 1.5 kg ) infants . DESIGN Prospect i ve observational study . SETTING An urban tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit and follow-up clinic . POPULATION One hundred nineteen singleton very low-birth-weight infants admitted from January 1 , 1997 , to February 14 , 1999 ( mean birth weight , 1056 g ; mean gestational age , 28 weeks ; 57 % male ; and 43 % white ) . METHODS A comparison of the effect on neonatal outcomes of daily grade d doses ( 1 - 24 , 25 - 49 , and > or = 50 mL/kg of body weight ) of maternal milk through week 4 of life vs a reference group receiving no maternal milk . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Neonatal outcomes examined included rates of sepsis after age 5 days , retinopathy of prematurity , chronic lung disease , necrotizing enterocolitis , jaundice , duration of ventilator dependence , and length of hospital stay . RESULTS Seventy-nine infants ( 66 % ) received maternal milk , of whom 32 received at least 50 mL/kg per day through week 4 of life . Poisson regression analysis adjusting for birth weight , sex , and ethnicity revealed that the mean number of episodes of sepsis for infants receiving at least 50 mL/kg per day was lower by a factor of 0.27 ( 95 % confidence interval , 0.08 - 0.95 ) compared with infants receiving no maternal milk . There was no effect of maternal milk on other neonatal outcomes . CONCLUSIONS A daily threshold amount of at least 50 mL/kg of maternal milk through week 4 of life is needed to decrease the rate of sepsis in very low-birth-weight infants , but maternal milk does not affect other neonatal morbidities
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