Pediatr. praxi. 2010;11(1):13-18

Mother’s milk fortification (suplementation)

MUDr.Jozef Macko

Novorozenecké oddělení, Krajská nemocnice Tomáše Bati, a. s., Zlín

The dominant form of nutrition of premature and hypotrophic newborns in neonatal and postneonatal period is nutrition by fortified

human milk. Human milk is insuffitient to ensure the positive nitrogen balance, growth and bone mineralization of newborns with very

and extremely low birth weight due to lack of adequate content of minerals, proteins and other nutritional elements.

The main goal of postnatal nutrition of low birth weight infants is to reach nutritional and weight parameters comparable with in utero

situation of fetus in third trimester of gravidity, it means weight gain 15–20 grams/per kg/per day. Accesible human milk fortifiers cannot

guarantee these nutritional characteristics, evidence of which is high percentage of babies (almost 90 % of extremely low birth weight

infants), released home with body weight and lenght parameters below 10th centil of corrected age.

In the randomized studies occured in last 15 years, babies fed with fortified human milk showed better weight and lenght gain, bone

mineralization, better results of some anthropometric indicators (for example the head circumference). These studies didn´t show and

confirm any distinct side negative effect of supplementation of the human milk.

Keywords: fortification (suplementation), mother’s milk, preter newborn

Published: March 1, 2010  Show citation