A planned prospective evaluation of the anti-infective property of varying quantities of expressed human milk

Abstract

This paper comprises 261 low birth weight infants who were divided into four groups with different feeding schedules. Group I--expressed human milk for all the feeds; Group II--human milk for half the feeds and the nursery formula for the rest; Group III--colostrum, 20 ml three times a day along with the nursery formula; and Group IV--control--only the nursery formula. The groups were matched by means of a randomized block design for identifiable factors which could predispose to the occurrence of infection. Infections were found to be significantly less in the groups which received human milk (p less than 0.001).