Donor human milk in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - to whom, how much and how long?

Objectives: The aim of the study was to present the variability of patients who received donor human milk (DHM) duringNeonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) hospitalization, including time of its usage and volume of portions.

Material And Methods: A retrospective analysis of data was conducted for all infants admitted to the NICU at the UniversityHospital during the first year of the Human Milk Bank operation. One-way analysis of variance in the intergroup scheme,Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis with the Jonckheere-Tepstra test, correlation analysis using Pearson's r and Spearmann'srho, frequency analysis using the Fisher's exact test were used to conduct analyses.

Results: 133 newborns received DHM. 3 groups of neonates were identified: < 32 0/7 weeks, 32 0/7-36 6/7 weeksand > 37 0/7 weeks of gestational age (GA). Time of DHM supplementation was similar in all groups and does not differdepending on the GA but preterm infants received the smallest total volume of DHM. However, infants > 37 weeks ofGA had almost a threefold greater chance of abandoning breastfeeding than the others (odds ratio (OR) = 2.89, 95% CI:0.69-12.20). There was a statistically significant, weak negative correlation between period of total parenteral nutrition andthe volume of milk from the bank: rho = -0.194; p = 0.026.

Conclusions: The DHM supply did not have a negative impact on lactation and breastfeeding. Stimulation of lactation wasnecessary for 5-7 days. The time of DHM supply was the same regardless of GA. The majority of infants were breastfed orreceived only MOM on the day of discharge from the hospital.