Mother's Own Milk Versus Donor Human Milk: What's the Difference?

Leslie A Parker; Rebecca Koernere; Keliy Fordham; Hussah Bubshait; Alissandre Eugene; Adrienne Gefre; Marion Bendixen

doi:10.1016/j.cnc.2023.09.002

Mother's Own Milk Versus Donor Human Milk: What's the Difference?

Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 2024 Mar;36(1):119-133. doi: 10.1016/j.cnc.2023.09.002. Epub 2023 Oct 16.

Authors

Leslie A Parker¹, Rebecca Koernere², Keliy Fordham², Hussah Bubshait², Alissandre Eugene², Adrienne Gefre², Marion Bendixen²

Affiliations

¹ College of Nursing, University of Florida, Box 100187 College of Nursing, Gainesville, FL, USA. Electronic address: Parkela@ufl.edu.
² College of Nursing, University of Florida, Box 100187 College of Nursing, Gainesville, FL, USA.

PMID: 38296370
DOI: 10.1016/j.cnc.2023.09.002

Abstract

Mother's own milk (MOM) is known to decrease complications in preterm infants and when unavailable, it is recommended that preterm very low-birth weight infants be fed donor human milk (DHM). Due to the pasteurization, processing, and lactation stage of donors, DHM does not contain the same nutritional, immunologic, and microbial components as MOM. This review summarizes the differences between MOM and DHM, the potential effects on health outcomes, and the clinical implications of these differences. Finally, implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

Keywords: Breast milk; Donor human milk; Human milk; Mother’s own milk; Neonatal intensive care unit; Nutrition; Premature infant; Very low birth weight.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Breast Feeding
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature*
Infant, Very Low Birth Weight
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Milk, Human*
Mothers