Lucas and Cole published a study in the Lancet December 1990.  Babies
fed formula exclusively were 6-10 times more likely to develop NEC
(Necrotising Enterocolitis) then those fed breastmilk alone and three
times more likely than babies fed a mixture of EBM/formula. In this
study pasteurised donor milk was as protective as fresh breastmilk. In
babies who were 30 weeks + gestation confirmed cases of NEC were rare in
those babies whose diets included some breastmilk. It was 20 times
greater in those fed formula only. The timing of the first feed was
important. Breastmilk fed babies showed no correlation between the
incidence of NEC and the timing of the first feed. In formula fed babies
a delay in starting feeds was associated with a significant reduction in
the incidence of NEC. Starting feeds on Day 9 rather than day 2 resulted
in a threefold reduction in risk factor. This kind of research should
make NICU breastmilk banks mandatory for the NICU situation. (Not that
we have any at all in NZ as yet)
Carol Bartle RN RM (NICU Christchurch)

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