Shorter Storage of Donor Human Milk Linked to reduced Gastrointestinal Complications in Premature Infants

A study from the Medical University of South Carolina, published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, reveals that shorter storage durations of donor human milk are linked to reduced gastrointestinal complications in premature infants, including necrotizing enterocolitis. These findings suggest that minimizing milk storage time may help to preserve protective properties crucial for preterm gut health, offering new insights into neonatal nutrition practices and improving outcomes for vulnerable newborns.

Odds are that when you go to the supermarket, you check each product you pick up for its “best by” date, ensuring that you have the freshest, healthiest food to bring home for you and your family. An MUSC study published in the journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition has found that those little best by dates for a particularly precious resource – donor human milk – have huge implications for the gastrointestinal health of very premature infants.

“Our results showed that babies weren’t as protected wiht the use of donor milk that was stored for a longer time as with donor milk that was stored for shorter periods of time,” said physician-scientist Katherine E.Chetta, M.D., who led the study. Chetta’s research program is focused on the science of breast milk, nutrition and intestinal rehabilitation.

Donor human milk is a vital substance, given to almost all preterm babies, especially if their own mother’s milk is unavailable, in short supply or otherwise unsafe. It can also reduce complications associated with formula, while supporting immune function, digestion and infants with specific medical conditions, such as low blood sugar, congenital heart disease and immunologic deficiencies.

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of using donor milk is to reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, as it’s often referred to in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), where most pre-term babies are cared for. NEC is a very serious inflammatory disease that affects mostly preemies and can lead to bowel tissue dying. It requires medication and frequently enough surgery and can lead to lifelong complications.

Even though doctors and scientists have not yet identified the sole cause of NEC,thay do have some ideas about several factors that,together,can cause injury to the premature gut,allowing bacteria in and creating inflammation.

As a neonatologist at the MUSC Shawn jenkins children’s Hospital, Chetta has long dealt with the devastating effects of NEC in her patients. “It’s one of those key benchmark diseases that all