Human Milk: The Preferred First Food for Premature Infants

Human milk offers many short term and long term health benefits to infants and mothers. Immune protective components including oligosaccharides protect premature infants from infections and necrotizing enterocolitis. It also enhances gut maturity and has shown better tolerance and rapid feeding advancement in premature infants. Human milk is the best initial feeding for the preterm infant; however it does not provide sufficient calories and macronutrients for infant growth and bone health. Human milk must be fortified with commercially available liquid fortifier to increase calorie and macronutrient contents especially calcium and phosphorus. Fortification practice of the human milk has shown improved extra uterine growth in premature infants. This article reviews various components of premature human milk, its benefits and fortification practice.