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Human Milk-derived Fortification in Preterm Infants

Effect of Human Milk-derived Fortifiers on Weight Gain in Preterm Infants <1250 g: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05228847
Enrollment
42
Registered
2022-02-08
Start date
2023-01-15
Completion date
2025-05-30
Last updated
2022-11-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Postnatal Growth Restriction

Keywords

Human milk

Brief summary

Human Milk alone is unable to meet the high nutritional requirements of preterm infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends fortification of human milk as a standard practice in all very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Multi-nutrient human milk fortifiers (HMFs) are designed to meet the macro and micro-nutrient needs of VLBW infants. HMFs differ by the origin of milk and by nutrient composition. Traditionally, bovine milk has been the main source of multi-nutrient HMFs.

Detailed description

Recent advances in lacto-engineering techniques allowed the manufacturing of multi-nutrient HMF from human milk as an alternative to bovine milk. Since exposure to infant bovine-based formula feeds is frequently shown to increase neonatal morbidities, human milk-derived HMFs (H-HMFs) have been frequently proposed to minimize exposure to bovine products prior to 34 weeks gestation with an intent to decrease the risks of necrotizing enterocolitis and feeding intolerance. The use of multi-nutrient H-HMFs is a promising intervention however currently available H-HMFs are expensive. The main objective of this randomized controlled trial is to compare the weight gain achieved by preterm infants born \<1250 g and fed human milk fortified with H-HMFs (made from mother's own milk (MOM) when MOM supply exceeds the daily need of her preterm infant or from donor human milk (DHM) compared with counterparts fed human milk fortified with the currently used bovine-derived fortifier (B-HMF).

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTHuman milk-derived HMF

Fortification with human milk-derived product

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTbovine milk-derived HMF

bovine milk-derived HMF

Sponsors

University of Calgary
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
3 Days to 12 Weeks
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Birthweight between 400 g-1250 g * Less than or 32 weeks gestational age at birth * Subject has been classified as appropriate for gestational age * Enteral feeding of human milk is initiated by 72 hours * Subject is expected to be on human milk for at least 3 weeks.

Exclusion criteria

* Congenital abnormalities or underlying disease that may affect growth * Maternal cocaine, alcohol, or opioid abuse during pregnancy * Mother or infant is currently receiving treatment for HIV infection * Infant with major surgery

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Average weight gainup to 3 weeksAverage weight gain measured as g/kg per day

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Head circumferenceWeekly for 8 weeksMeasurement of head circumference in centimeters
LengthWeekly for 8 weeksMeasurement of length in centimeters
Feed intolerance3 weeksIncidence of interruption in enteral feeding due to feed intolerance (vomiting or abdominal distension), unrelated to a clinical procedure, that lasted for ≥12 hours or a \>50% reduction in volume over the same time frame.
Electrolytes abnormalities3 weeksIncidence of any abnormality in one of the following electrolytes: sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus
Need for additional signal nutrient supplementation3 weeksNumber of additions of single nutrient supplementation (include protein, fat and carbohydrate) in each group.

Countries

Canada

Contacts

Primary ContactBelal Alshaikh, MD, MSc
balshaik@ucalgary.ca4039561588

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026