Human milk supplement

Abstract

The invention relates to a nutritional supplement for human milk to feed premature infants comprising protein, fat and carbohydrates wherein the carbohydrate content is limited to no more than about 10% dry weight of the nutritional supplement, and the fat content is at least about 35% dry weight, to reduce the increase in osmolality occurring when the supplement is added to human milk and, thus,produce a supplemented human milk that is better tolerated by the infants. Vitamins and minerals can be added. The present invention relates also to methods to support the rapid growth of premature infants by administering nutritionally supplemented human milk to those infants.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application Serial No. 60 / 354240, filed February 4, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. technical field [0002] The present invention relates to low osmolality nutritional supplement additives for premature infants and methods of supporting rapid growth in premature infants by feeding these infants nutrient-supplemented human milk. Background technique [0003] Preterm or preterm infants are generally those born before 37 weeks of gestation and / or with a birth weight of less than 2500 g. Because of their immaturity and low birth weight, many of these infants present special nutritional needs that are generally not met by their mother's breast milk or breast milk reserves. In addition, donor-provided breast milk raises concerns about health effects due to possible adulteration with bacteria, viruses or other contaminants. [0004] In general, breast milk is recognized as an ideal food ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0006] Although the use of nutritional supplementation supplements is an attractive solution to the specific nutritional needs of preterm infants, such additional nutrients generally result in supplemented breast milk with higher osmolality than typical breast milk