AUTHOR=Wang Min , Gong Xiaohui , Yu Lianhu , Song Feifei , Li Dan , Fan Qiaoling , Zhang Ting , Yan Xueming 

TITLE=Early enteral nutrition with exclusive donor milk instead of formula milk affects the time of full enteral feeding for very low birth weight infants

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1345768

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2024.1345768

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=This study investigated the effects of exclusive donor milk or formula in the first 7 days after birth, on the time to full enteral feeding, growth, and morbidity of adverse events related to premature infants. This was a retrospective study carried out from July 2014 to December 2019 at the Department of Neonatology of Shanghai Children's Hospital. All infants with a birth weight <1,500g and a gestational age ≤32 who received exclusive donor milk or formula in the first 7 days after birth were included in this study. The time to full enteral feeding (defined as 150 ml/kg) in the donor milk group was significantly shorter than in the formula group (18 vs. 22 days, p = 0.01). Donated breast milk was also associated with a lower incidence of NEC (4.4% vs. 7%, p < 0.01), ROP (3.8% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.01), and culture-confirmed sepsis (11% vs. 22.6%, p < 0.01). Using donated breast milk instead of current formula milk for early enteral nutrition can shorten the time to full enteral feeding and reduce the incidence of NEC, ROP, and sepsis.