Worldwide clinical surveys have evidenced that around one million premature babies face high risk of mortality every year globally, with preterm death being one of the leading causes of death in children under five years. Studies have also shown that developing countries are at higher risk of premature deliveries, with 12% of infants born before 37 weeks of gestation compared to 9% in higher-income countries.

Babies born early miss out on a surge of nutrient absorption that would have occurred during the third trimester in normal conditions, and therefore they need additional nutrients for optimal growth and nutrition. While the nutrient composition of human milk is ideal for healthy term infants, the nutritional value of breast milk is inadequate to meet the needs of sick or preterm babies. Hence, fortification of human milk is necessary to meet the added nutritional requirement of preterm babies and reduce the risk of abnormalities and mortality.

Human milk fortifiers (HMF) are commonly used as a dietary supplement when babies are born prematurely, particularly for those born under 33 weeks. Although for infants over 33 weeks gestation, breastmilk in sufficient volume (220ml/kg/day) is nutritionally adequate but may require some vitamin and mineral supplements. Broadly, there are two main types of human milk fortifier; the first is formulated by using bovine cow-based protein, added to pumped human milk; and the second is a human-milk-based fortifier. Studies show that cow’s milk-based products have an increased risk of fatal manifestations such as Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), chronic lung disease (CLD), feeding intolerance, and other long-term challenges like cardiovascular disorders, obesity, diabetes, and asthma. On the other hand, various clinical studies acclaim that using human-milk-based fortifiers results in lower incidents of serious medical complications. 

NeoLacta aims to facilitate neonatal and preterm infants with human-milk-based fortifiers to fulfill their nutritional requirements and optimize their growth and nutrition. NeoLacta products are highly recommended by neonatologists and pediatricians, as they impart unmatched benefits to prematurely born babies, low birth weight babies, babies whose mothers have difficulty feeding due to medical reasons, and babies born through surrogacy or IVF. Clinical surveys and various case studies have indicated the affirmative and optimistic results of NeoLacta products on neonatal mortality and growth parameters of preterm babies.

Resources –

https://uichildrens.org/health-library/guidelines-use-human-milk-fortifier-neonatal-intensive-care-unit

https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-017-0308-8

https://neolacta.com