Human milk feeding of the micropremie

There is increasing evidence that feeding of mother's milk to very low-birt h weight and extremely low-birth weight infants has both immediate and long -term benefits to growth and development of this vulnerable infant populati on. Although clinically mother's milk is increasingly the feeding of choice for tiny premature infants for the healthcare provider, this practice pres ents challenges such as: careful collection and storage of the milk in orde r to preserve the native milk nutrients and immune factors; identification of the need for fortification of mother's milk with single or multiple nutr ients to ensure optimal growth and normal biochemical status (such as plasm a sodium, phosphorus, and protein); and achievement of successful transitio n for gavage feeding of expressed milk to suckling by the tiny premature in fant. Although initial growth and bone mass accretion may be slower in infa nts fed mother's milk compared with those infants fed formula, current evid ence suggests that catch-up growth occurs. The potential for benefits of hu man milk feeding in early life for neurodevelopment and protection against infections must be weighed against any possible detrimental effects of slow er growth in early life.