Best Medicine: Human Milk in the NICU

What is the best medicine and the best nutrition for premature infants? Human milk, of course! Even though NICU care has improved the survival rate for premature infants dramatically, the percent of premature and low birth weight infants continues to rise. Although the benefits of human milk for term infants are well recognized, only recently has attention been paid to the crucial role of nutrition in the long-term outcome in premature infants. The good news is that current research confirms that human milk is especially important for the preterm infant in regards to host defense, gastrointestinal development, special nutrition, and neurodevelopmental outcome. The bad news is that many health care providers and NICUs are not taking full advantage of this "liquid gold," and are not fully supporting mothers in their desire to provide milk and breastfeed their infants.