Does the Opening of a Milk Bank in NICU Cancel the Incidence of NEC?

Quitadamo Pa,Palumbo G,Bisceglia M,Villani A,Savastano M,Gentile A,Cristalli P,Ravidà D

doi:10.18875/2638-3608.1.104

Abstract

Several studies suggest that donor milk (DM) is effective in preventing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants and DM is widely used for this purpose when the mother’s milk (OMM) is unavailable, and the presence of a DMB (Donor Milk Bank) in NICU has indeed increased breast milk feeding.

Highlights

Donor milk is widely used to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis for vulnerable premature infants when OMM is unavailable and several studies suggest that donor milk (DM) is just as effective in preventing NEC in preterm infants [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
We evaluated the number of NEC diagnosed year by year in the context of the very low birth weight infants (VLBW) assisted in our NICU, the number of newborns transferred to Pediatric Surgery and the number of premature infants who died due to NEC
The focus is on evaluating if the increased widespread use of human milk for VLBW in our NICU has translated into reduced morbidity and mortality for NEC

Summary

Introduction

The food of choice for premature infants is their own mother’s milk, in cases where it’s not obtainable, such as before it becomes available or when it’s no longer available donated human milk is used instead.Donor milk is widely used to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis for vulnerable premature infants when OMM is unavailable and several studies suggest that DM is just as effective in preventing NEC in preterm infants [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8].The first association in between of the use of human milk and the NEC dates back to 1973, since the bibliographic entries have been increasingly numerous and today the protective effect of human milk against the NEC is considered acquired data.In a recent multicenter study involving 1587 infants with a birth weight of less than 1250 g, those being extremely preterm who had received an exclusive human milk (HM) diet showed a significantly lower incidence of NEC and further demonstrating multiple improved outcomes after implementation of such a feeding protocol [9].In a population-based cohort study, the availability of DHM has been associated with positive changes including decrease in NEC rates and increased breast milk feeding [10].ScholArena | www.scholarena.com. Donor milk is widely used to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis for vulnerable premature infants when OMM is unavailable and several studies suggest that DM is just as effective in preventing NEC in preterm infants [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. In a recent multicenter study involving 1587 infants with a birth weight of less than 1250 g, those being extremely preterm who had received an exclusive human milk (HM) diet showed a significantly lower incidence of NEC and further demonstrating multiple improved outcomes after implementation of such a feeding protocol [9]. In a population-based cohort study, the availability of DHM has been associated with positive changes including decrease in NEC rates and increased breast milk feeding [10]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion