Common reasons for prescribing pasteurized donor human milk include:
- Premature birth
- Failure to thrive
- Malabsorption syndromes
- Allergies
- Feeding/formula intolerance
- Immunologic deficiencies
- Post-operative nutrition
- Infectious disease
Benefits of Human Milk
- 58% decrease of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NEC is a severe and potentially life-threatening intestinal infection that premature infants are at high risk for.
- 36% decrease in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- 64% decrease in gastrointestinal tract infections
- Reduced rates of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP can cause mild-to-severe vision impairment in premature infants.
- Lower rates of infections.
- Improved feeding tolerance. Human milk is gentler on the baby’s tummy and easier to digest.
- Fewer hospital re-admissions after NICU discharge.
- Higher intelligence scores were noted at 8 years of age with patients who received human milk as infants in the NICU.
- Decreased rates of obesity throughout life.
- 52% decrease of celiac disease.
- Up to a 30% reduction in type 1 diabetes mellitus.
- 31% decrease in childhood irritable bowel disease (IBS).
- 27% decrease of asthma, eczema and other skin disorders.
- 20% reduction in the risk for acute lymphocytic leukemia.
- 15% reduction risk for acute myeloid leukemia.
[Information obtained from The AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics, “Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of HumanMilk,” Volume 129, Number 3, March 2012]