Preterm Milk Fortifier Composition With High Nutrient-Energy Ratio
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing human milk fortifiers fail to adequately meet the nutritional needs of preterm and extremely low birth weight infants post-discharge, leading to sub-optimal growth and development outcomes, as they often result in insufficient nutrient intake due to the infants' ability to adjust volume intake based on energy content.
Innovation Solution
A human milk fortifier composition designed to supplement breast milk with specific nutrients such as 2′-fucosyllactose, LNFP-I, and other essential nutrients like minerals, proteins, and vitamins, tailored to the Lewis/Secretor status of the mother, ensuring a high nutrient/energy ratio to minimize impact on total milk volume intake.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If standard energy dense multinutrient fortifiers are used to fortify human breast milk, then the energy content of the feed increases, but the infants adjust their volume intake downward resulting in insufficient total nutrient intake
Solution Approach 1:
The fortifier is divided into multiple separate single-nutrient or limited-nutrient components rather than providing all nutrients in a single energy-dense formulation. This allows the infant to receive adequate volumes of fortified milk while obtaining sufficient amounts of each specific nutrient without the volume suppression effect caused by high energy density
Solution Approach 2:
The fortifier changes the nutrient composition parameters by providing specific nutrients (such as fucosylated oligosaccharides, prebiotics, probiotics, or targeted vitamins and minerals) at optimized concentrations that address preterm infant needs without increasing overall energy density to levels that would suppress intake volume
2Reliability
If human milk is used as the sole source of nutrition for preterm infants, then the infant receives the benefits of decreased NEC risk and improved neurologic outcomes, but the milk is inadequate to meet the specific nutritional requirements of VLBW infants
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges human breast milk with a targeted fortifier composition that supplements specific nutrients. This combination preserves the immunological and neuroprotective benefits of human milk while adding the specific nutrients (such as fucosylated oligosaccharides, prebiotics, probiotics, or micronutrients) that preterm infants require for optimal growth and development
3Use of energy by moving object
If high energy content fortifiers are used post-discharge, then the energy content increases, but the infants reduce their volume intake leading to minimal improvement in growth outcomes
Solution Approach 1:
The fortifier provides specific nutrients in separate, non-energy-dense formulations that do not trigger volume suppression. This segmentation allows infants to maintain adequate milk intake volumes while receiving targeted nutrient supplementation that improves growth outcomes without the trade-off associated with energy-dense fortifiers
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a preterm human milk fortifier composition, more specifically to a preterm milk fortifier composition providing 2′-FL and/or LNFP-I in amounts that are missing in human milk of women who gave birth to a preterm infant. In particular the present invention relates to a fortifier composition designed for infants as a supplement to preterm human breast milk at the time the infant leaves the hospital (discharge) and after. The invention furthermore relates to the use of said preterm human milk fortifier composition.