It is likely that donor milk provides short-term cost savings by reducing the incidence of NEC .
BACKGROUND Necrotizing enterocolitis ( NEC ) is a costly gastrointestinal disorder that mainly affects preterm and low-birth-weight infants and can lead to considerable morbidity and mortality .
Mother 's own milk is protective against NEC but is not always available .
In such cases , donor human milk has also been shown to be protective ( although to a lesser extent ) compared with formula milk , but it is more expensive .
This systematic review aim ed at evaluating the cost of donor milk , the cost of treating NEC , and the cost-effectiveness of exclusive donor milk versus formula milk feeding to reduce the short-term health and treatment costs of NEC .
The initial maternal cost of providing 100 mL of human milk for very low birth weight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.
OBJECTIVES Human milk ( HM ) feeding is associated with lower incidence and severity of costly prematurity-specific morbidities compared to formula feeding in very low birth weight ( VLBW ; < 1,500 g ) infants . However , the costs of providing HM are not routinely reimbursed by payers and can be a significant barrier for mothers . This study determined the initial maternal cost of providing 100 mL of HM for VLBW infants during the early neonatal intensive care unit ( NICU ) stay . METHODS This secondary analysis examined data from 111 mothers who provided HM for their VLBW infants during the early NICU stay . These data were collected during a multisite , r and omized clinical trial where milk output and time spent pumping were recorded for every pumping session ( n = 13,273 ) . The cost analysis examined the cost of the breast pump rental , pump kit  , and  maternal opportunity cost  ( an estimate of the cost of maternal time ) . RESULTS Mean daily milk output and time spent pumping were 558.2 mL ( SD = 320.7 ; range = 0 - 2,024 ) and 98.7 minutes ( SD = 38.6 ; range = 0 - 295 ) , respectively . The mean cost of providing 100 mL of HM  varied from $ 2.60 to $ 6.18 when maternal opportunity cost was included and from $ 0.95 to $ 1.55 when it was excluded . The cost per 100 mL of HM  declined with every additional day of pumping and was most sensitive to the costs of the breast pump rental and pump kit . CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that HM is reasonably inexpensive to provide and that the maternal cost of providing milk is mitigated by increasing milk output over the early NICU stay
It is likely that donor milk provides short-term cost savings by reducing the incidence of NEC .
BACKGROUND Necrotizing enterocolitis ( NEC ) is a costly gastrointestinal disorder that mainly affects preterm and low-birth-weight infants and can lead to considerable morbidity and mortality .
Mother 's own milk is protective against NEC but is not always available .
In such cases , donor human milk has also been shown to be protective ( although to a lesser extent ) compared with formula milk , but it is more expensive .
This systematic review aim ed at evaluating the cost of donor milk , the cost of treating NEC , and the cost-effectiveness of exclusive donor milk versus formula milk feeding to reduce the short-term health and treatment costs of NEC .