Human milk is the only milk for premies in the NICU!

Numerous short and long-term benefits of breastfeeding the full-term infant have been acknowledged. The use of human milk in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is emerging as the beneficial effects are being realized. Challenges facing the practitioners today include providing optimal storage and processing strategies for mother's own milk (MOM), as well as offering an alternative when MOM is unavailable or supply is insufficient. We review the health benefits of human milk for the ELBW infant and the strategies for optimal use of the milk in the NICU. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.