Human milk fortifiers

Abstract

Unsupplemented human milk does not normally provide enough protein and minerals to secure optimal growth in low birthweight infants. We compared the growth and biochemical status of 21 very low birthweight infants, fed on their own mothers' fortified milk (seven infants) or a high-caloric-density formula (14 infants). The human milk fortifier is made from a mixture of cows' milk proteins (40% whey, 45% casein) and amino acids (15%) and has been demonstrated to be appropriate to achieve a plasma amino acid profile similar to that of normal infants fed exclusively on human milk. Infants receiving fortified human milk showed growth and biochemical profiles comparable to those receiving high-caloric-density formula. The supplementation that we describe here confirms the good results well documented by other authors. It is easy to perform and can be an acceptable alternative to the more sophisticated procedure of "lacto-engineering".