Impact of Donor Milk on Short- and Long-Term Growth of Very Low Birth Weight Infants

• Main Authors: Rebecca Hoban, Michael E. Schoeny, Anita Esquerra-Zwiers, Tanyaporn K. Kaenkumchorn, Gina Casini, Grace Tobin, Alan H. Siegel, Kousiki Patra, Matthew Hamilton, Jennifer Wicks, Paula Meier, Aloka L. Patel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-01-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: human milk; breastfeeding; neonatal; donor milk; growth; very low birth weight
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/2/241

Mother&#8217;s own milk (MOM) reduces the risk of morbidities in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. When MOM is unavailable, donor breastmilk (DM) is used, with unclear impact on short- and long-term growth. This retrospective analysis compared anthropometric data at six time points from birth to 20&#8315;24 months corrected age in VLBW infants who received MOM supplements of preterm formula (<i>n</i> = 160) versus fortified DM (<i>n</i> = 161) during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. The cohort was 46% female; mean birth weight and gestational age (GA) were 998 g and 27.3 weeks. Multilevel linear growth models assessed changes in growth <i>z</i>-scores short-term (to NICU discharge) and long-term (post-discharge), controlling for amount of DM or formula received in first 28 days of life, NICU length of stay (LOS), birth GA, and sex. <i>Z</i>-scores for weight and length decreased during hospitalization but increased for all parameters including head circumference post-discharge. Short-term growth was positively associated with LOS and birth GA. A higher preterm formula proportion, but not DM proportion, was associated with slower rates of decline in short-term growth trajectories, but feeding type was unrelated to long-term growth. In conclusion, controlling for total human milk fed, DM did not affect short- or long-term growth.