Early Protein Supplementation of Human Milk in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Early Liquid Protein Supplementation of Human Milk in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

We hypothesize that premature infants who receive their mothers' expressed breast milk supplemented with liquid protein early in their hospitalization will have a growth velocity in the first 28 days of life that is 20% greater than the growth velocity of premature infants that do not receive protein fortification.

Inclusion Criteria:

• inborn at Mount Sinai Medical Center
• gestational age between 26 0/7 weeks and 32 6/7 weeks gestation
• plan by family for their infant to receive human milk feeds

Exclusion Criteria:

• outborn infants
• gestational age < 26 0/7 weeks or > 33 0/7 weeks
• major congenital anomalies including cardiac disease, inborn errors of metabolism etc.
• sepsis and/or other serious clinical complication precluding initiation of enteral feeds
• plan by family for their infant to receive primarily preterm infant formula.