{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,24]],"date-time":"2026-03-24T02:02:52Z","timestamp":1774317772148,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,20]],"date-time":"2017-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1495238400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There has been a dramatic rise in preterm births in developed countries owing to changes in clinical practices and greater use of assisted reproductive techniques. However, few studies have examined the growth and outcomes of preterm infants according to the type of feeding (with fortified breast milk or formula). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of breast milk feedings and formula on the growth and short-term outcomes of preterm infants in Hong Kong. In a single-center retrospective cohort study, we included 642 preterm infants at gestational age &lt;37 weeks with birth weights &lt;2200 g. According to World Health Organization criteria, 466 were classified as low birth weight (LBW) infants (\u22651500 g and &lt;2200 g) and 176 were classified as very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (&lt;1500 g). The mothers of approximately 80% of VLBW infants and 60% LBW infants initiated breast milk feeding. When compared with no breast milk intake, LBW infants that received breast milk were significantly more likely to have growth z-scores closer to the median of the reference population on admission and experienced slower weight gain from birth to discharge. When breast milk was categorized by percent of total enteral intake, significant differences were seen among LBW infants, with lower percentages of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) status at discharge with increased proportions of breast milk intake. Our results suggest that LBW infants fed breast milk had better growth z-scores and lower SGA status at discharge compared with those predominately fed preterm formula.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu9050520","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,23]],"date-time":"2017-05-23T01:47:33Z","timestamp":1495504053000},"page":"520","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Increase in Weight in Low Birth Weight and Very Low Birth Weight Infants Fed Fortified Breast Milk versus Formula Milk: A Retrospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Kris","family":"Lok","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0287-8020","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pui","family":"Chau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Heidi","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kam","family":"Chan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics &amp; Adolescent Medicine, United Christian Hospital, 130 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bill","family":"Chan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics &amp; Adolescent Medicine, United Christian Hospital, 130 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Genevieve","family":"Fung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Paediatrics &amp; Adolescent Medicine, United Christian Hospital, 130 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marie","family":"Tarrant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S2","DOI":"10.1186\/1742-4755-10-S1-S2","article-title":"Born too soon: The global epidemiology of 15 million preterm births","volume":"10","author":"Blencowe","year":"2013","journal-title":"Reprod. Health"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2162","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)60820-4","article-title":"National, regional, and worldwide estimates of preterm birth rates in the year 2010 with time trends since 1990 for selected countries: A systematic analysis and implications","volume":"379","author":"Blencowe","year":"2012","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.1053\/sper.2002.34769","article-title":"Obstetric intervention, stillbirth, and preterm birth","volume":"26","author":"Joseph","year":"2002","journal-title":"Semin. Perinatol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1471-0528.2005.00575.x","article-title":"The epidemiology of preterm labour","volume":"112","author":"Steer","year":"2005","journal-title":"BJOG-Int. J. Obstet. Gynaecol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyg238","article-title":"Does gestation vary by ethnic group? A London-based study of over 122,000 pregnancies with spontaneous onset of labour","volume":"33","author":"Patel","year":"2004","journal-title":"Int. J. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1479-828X.1998.tb02986.x","article-title":"Incidence of preterm delivery in Hong Kong Chinese","volume":"38","author":"Leung","year":"1998","journal-title":"Aust. N. Z. J. Obstet. Gynaecol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1592","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpeds.2013.07.011","article-title":"Randomized trial of exclusive human milk versus preterm formula diets in extremely premature infants","volume":"163","author":"Cristofalo","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Pediatr."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Quigley, M.A., Henderson, G., Anthony, M.Y., and McGuire, W. (2007). Formula milk versus donor breast milk for feeding preterm or low birth weight infants. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev., CD002971.","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD002971.pub2"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"1","article-title":"Formula milk versus maternal breast milk for feeding preterm or low birth weight infants (review)","volume":"4","author":"Henderson","year":"2007","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst. Rev."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S175","DOI":"10.1097\/01.mpg.0000302967.83244.36","article-title":"Mother\u2019s own milk, donor human milk, and preterm formulas in the feeding of extremely premature infants","volume":"45","author":"Schanler","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"400","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2004-1974","article-title":"Randomized trial of donor human milk versus preterm formula as substitutes for mothers\u2019 own milk in the feeding of extremely premature infants","volume":"116","author":"Schanler","year":"2005","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"437","article-title":"Growth and development of premature infants fed predominantly human milk, predominantly premature infant formula, or a combination of human milk and premature formula","volume":"37","author":"Jacobs","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Pediatric Gastroenterol. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2006). Optimal Feeding of Low Birth-Weight Infants: Technical Review, World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"McGuire, W., and Anthony, M.Y. (2001). Formula milk versus preterm human milk for feeding preterm or low birth weight infants. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev., CD002972."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2017, March 24). Preterm Birth Fact Sheet. Available online: http:\/\/www.who.int\/mediacentre\/factsheets\/fs363\/en\/index.html."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fenton, T.R., and Kim, J.H. (2013). A systematic review and meta-analysis to revise the Fenton growth chart for preterm infants. BMC Pediatr., 13.","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2431-13-59"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Colaizy, T.T., Carlson, S., Saftlas, A.F., and Morriss, F.H. (2012). Growth in VLBW infants fed predominantly fortified maternal and donor human milk diets: A retrospective cohort study. BMC Pediatr., 12.","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2431-12-124"},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"StataCorp (2015). Stata Statistical Software: Release 14.1 [Program], StataCorp LP."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"346","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jogn.2016.01.006","article-title":"Predictors of breastfeeding initiation and frequency for preterm infants in the NICU","volume":"45","author":"Melender","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Obstetr. Gynecol. Neonatal Nurs."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fewtrell, M.S., Kennedy, K., Ahluwalia, J.S., Nicholl, R., Lucas, A., and Burton, P. (2016). Predictors of expressed breast milk volume in mothers expressing milk for their preterm infant. Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed.","DOI":"10.1136\/archdischild-2015-308321"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1038\/jp.2014.212","article-title":"Predictors of sustained maternal milk feeds in extremely preterm infants","volume":"35","author":"Omarsdottir","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Perinatol.: Off. J. Calif. Perinat. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Maas, C., Wiechers, C., Bernhard, W., Poets, C.F., and Franz, A.R. (2013). Early feeding of fortified breast milk and in-hospital-growth in very premature infants: A retrospective cohort analysis. BMC Pediatr., 13.","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2431-13-178"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"276","DOI":"10.1097\/MCO.0000000000000167","article-title":"Challenges in breast milk fortification for preterm infants","volume":"18","author":"Rochow","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2297","DOI":"10.3390\/nu7042297","article-title":"Target fortification of breast milk: How often should milk analysis be done?","volume":"7","author":"Rochow","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nutrients"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"254","DOI":"10.1093\/ajcn\/52.2.254","article-title":"Growth, nutrient retention, and metabolic response of low-birth-weight infants fed supplemented and unsupplemented preterm human milk","volume":"52","author":"Kashyap","year":"1990","journal-title":"Am. J. Clin. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"17","article-title":"Short- and medium-term outcomes of accelerated infant growth in a Hong Kong Chinese birth cohort","volume":"15","author":"Schooling","year":"2009","journal-title":"Hong Kong Med. J."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fenton, T.R., Chan, H.T., Madhu, A., Griffin, I.J., Hoyos, A., Ziegler, E.E., Groh-Wargo, S., Carlson, S.J., Senterre, T., and Anderson, D. (2017). Preterm infant growth velocity calculations: A systematic review. Pediatrics, e20162045.","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2016-2045"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"810","DOI":"10.1038\/pr.2016.26","article-title":"Comparing apples with apples: It is time for standardized reporting of neonatal nutrition and growth studies","volume":"79","author":"Cormack","year":"2016","journal-title":"Pediatr. Res."}],"container-title":["Nutrients"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-6643\/9\/5\/520\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:36:28Z","timestamp":1760207788000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-6643\/9\/5\/520"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,20]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,5]]}},"alternative-id":["nu9050520"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/nu9050520","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-6643"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-6643","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,20]]}}}