Human milk feeding of the micropremie

There is increasing evidence that feeding of mother's milk to very low-birth weight and extremely low-birth weight infants has both immediate and long-term benefits to growth and development of this vulnerable infant population. Although clinically mother's milk is increasingly the feeding of choice for tiny premature infants for the healthcare provider, this practice presents challenges such as: careful collection and storage of the milk in order to preserve the native milk nutrients and immune factors; identification of the need for fortification of mother's milk with single or multiple nutrients to ensure optimal growth and normal biochemical status (such as plasma sodium, phosphorus, and protein); and achievement of successful transition for gavage feeding of expressed milk to suckling by the tiny premature infant. Although initial growth and bone mass accretion may be slower in infants fed mother's milk compared with those infants fed formula, current evidence suggests that catch-up growth occurs. The potential for benefits of human milk feeding in early life for neurodevelopment and protection against infections must be weighed against any possible detrimental effects of slower growth in early life.