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
Breast milk and neonatal necrotising enterocolitis
In a prospect i ve multicentre study on 926 preterm infants formally assigned to their early diet , necrotising enterocolitis developed in 51 ( 5.5 % ) .  Mortality was 26 % in stringently confirmed cases . In exclusively  formula-fed  babies confirmed disease was 6 - 10 times more common than in those fed breast milk alone and 3 times more common than in those who received formula plus breast milk . Pasteurised donor milk seemed to be as protective as raw maternal milk . Among babies born at more than 30 weeks ' gestation confirmed necrotising enterocolitis was rare in those whose diet included breast milk ; it was 20 times more common in those fed formula only . Other risk factors included very low  gestational age , respiratory disease , umbilical artery catheterisation , and polycythaemia . In formula-fed but not breast-milk-fed infants , delayed enteral feeding was associated with a lower frequency of necrotising enterocolitis . With the fall in the use of breast milk in British neonatal units , exclusive formula feeding could account for an estimated 500 extra cases of necrotising enterocolitis each year . About 100 of these infants would die
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