Research Suggests Some Premature Infants May Go Home From the NICU Up To Three Weeks Earlier When Fed Prolacta’s 100% Human Milk-Based Nutritional Products; Those with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia May Benefit the Most

DUARTE, Calif., July 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A retrospective study indicates that premature infants’ stays in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are reduced anywhere from 4.5 to 22.9 days when fed Prolacta Bioscience® 100% human milk-based products as a part of an Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD)¹. Additional research suggests that infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a common complication of prematurity, may benefit the most from an EHMD when it comes to shortening their hospital stays.

• A retrospective study published in the Journal of Perinatology found that 293 infants between gestational ages 23 and 34 weeks and birth weights between 490 and 1,700 g who received Prolacta’s fortifiers as part of an EHMD achieved full feeds at faster rates and ultimately reduced their NICU stay by 4.5 to 22.9 days, compared with infants fed their mother’s milk with a cow milk-based fortifier or a combination of mom’s milk with cow milk-based fortifier and formula.²
• Frontiers in Pediatrics published findings from a study of more than 12,000 premature infants born at ≤ 28 weeks indicating that among the 41% who developed BPD, hospital stays were 19 days longer on average (P = .001) than those who did not develop BPD.³
• A secondary analysis of a study that originally looked at the impact of Prolacta’s cream fortifier on growth among premature infants weighing 750 to 1,250 g showed that adding Prolacta’s human milk-based cream fortifier to an EHMD resulted in an average stay in the NICU that was 12 days shorter, from 86 days without the cream supplement to 74 days when it was used. In this study, the infants with BPD may have benefited the most from the addition of Prolacta’s cream fortifier, with 17 fewer days in the NICU, from an average of 121 to 104 days (P = .08). This updated analysis was published in Breastfeeding Medicine in 2016.⁴
• A 2019 study published in Advances in Neonatal Care compared 104 infants born weighing
  ≤ 1,250 g who received an EHMD to a similar group of 101 infants who received cow milk-based fortifier. In this study, an EHMD was associated with decreased rates of BPD (P = .018) and sepsis (P = .06) and an average five-day reduction in length of hospital stay.⁵

“The goal of all parents with a premature infant in the NICU is to bring their baby home as soon as possible. When you add the concerns about exposure to hospital-based infections for both the parents and the baby, that desire for discharge is stronger than ever,” said Melinda Elliott, M.D., chief medical officer of Prolacta. “The clinical evidence shows an EHMD including Prolacta’s products helps to overcome the complications of prematurity, resulting in better health outcomes and shorter hospital stays in the NICU.”

About Prolacta Bioscience
Prolacta Bioscience® Inc. is a privately held life sciences company dedicated to Advancing the Science of Human Milk®. Prolacta is the world’s leading hospital provider of 100% human milk-based nutritional products. These life-saving products have reduced complications and improved the health of more than 63,000 extremely premature infants globally. In addition, the company is exploring the therapeutic potential of human milk across a wide spectrum of human diseases, including applications for infants requiring surgery for congenital cardiac and gastrointestinal disorders. Operating the world’s first pharmaceutical-grade human milk processing facilities, Prolacta leads the industry with the highest quality and safety standards for the screening and testing of donor milk. Prolacta is a global company with headquarters in Duarte, California, and can be found online at www.prolacta.com, on Twitter @prolacta, on Instagram @prolacta_bioscience, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prolacta and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/prolacta-bioscience/.

www.prolacta.com

Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont
[email protected]
310-721-9444

References 

1. An Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD) is achieved when 100% of the protein, fat, and carbohydrates in an infant’s diet are derived from human milk. This diet includes Prolacta’s 100% human milk-based fortifiers.
2. Assad M, Elliott MJ, Abraham JH. Decreased cost and improved feeding tolerance in VLBW infants fed an exclusive human milk diet. J Perinatol. 2015;36(3):216-220. The study included 293 infants between gestational ages 23 and 34 weeks and birth weights between 490 and 1,700 g. doi:10.1038/jp.2015.168
3. Mowitz ME, et al. Health care burden of bronchopulmonary dysplasia among extremely preterm infants. Front Pediatr. 2019;7:510. Health service claims for more than 12,000 preemies born at ≤ 28 weeks were retrospectively analyzed. doi: 10.3389/fped.2019.00510
4. Hair AB, Bergner EM, Lee ML, et al. Premature infants 750-1,250 g birth weight supplemented with a novel human milk-derived cream are discharged sooner. Breastfeed Med. 2016;11(3):1-5. This study was a secondary analysis of a growth study published in The Journal of Pediatrics. A total of 75 infants weighing 750 to 1,250 g were evaluated. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2015.0166
5. Delaney Manthe E, Perks PH, Swanson JR. Team-based implementation of an exclusive human milk diet. Adv Neonat Care. 2019;19(6):460-467. doi:10.1097/ANC.0000000000000676

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