PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Catherine A Boyd
AU  - Maria A Quigley
AU  - Peter Brocklehurst
TI  - Donor breast milk versus infant formula for preterm infants: systematic review and meta-analysis
AID  - 10.1136/adc.2005.089490
DP  - 2007 May 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
PG  - F169--F175
VI  - 92
IP  - 3
4099  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/92/3/F169.short
4100  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/92/3/F169.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2007 May 01; 92
AB  - Objectives: To compare the effect of donor breast milk with infant formula in preterm infants. Separate comparisons with formula were made for donor breast milk that was: (1) given as a sole diet; (2) given as a supplement to mother’s own breast milk; and (3) fortified with macronutrients and micronutrients. The main outcomes were death, necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), infection, growth and development. Data sources: Electronic databases—Cochrane, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and HMIC: DH. Review methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of trials and observational studies of preterm or low birthweight infants. Results: Seven studies (including five randomised controlled trials), all from the 1970s and 1980s, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. All studies compared the effect of sole donor breast milk with formula (combined n = 471). One of these also compared the effect of donor breast milk with formula given as a supplement to mother’s own milk (n = 343). No studies examined fortified donor breast milk. A meta-analysis based on three studies found a lower risk of NEC in infants receiving donor breast milk compared with formula (combined RR 0.21, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.76). Donor breast milk was associated with slower growth in the early postnatal period, but its long-term effect is unclear. Conclusion: Donor breast milk is associated with a lower risk of NEC and slower growth in the early postnatal period, but the quality of the evidence is limited. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and measure the effect of fortified or supplemented donor breast milk.