A recent study suggests that preterm infants fed an exclusive human milk diet may experience better motor development by age three. The research focuses on infants born before 32 weeks of gestation and found that those who received mostly human milk during their NICU stay were significantly less likely to show signs of motor delay in early childhood.
Published in the Journal of Perinatology, the study, “Exclusive human milk diet is associated with lower risk of motor function impairment at three years of corrected age,” was co-authored by KPSOM faculty members Fu-Sheng Chou, MD, PhD, FAAP, Clinical Associate Professor of Clinical Science, Ashwini Lakshmanan, MD, MS, MPH, FAAP, Associate Professor of Health Systems Science, and Maria Fe B. Villosis, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Clinical Science. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that nutrition during the earliest stages of life, especially for medically fragile infants, can have lasting developmental benefits. Researchers believe these findings can inform neonatal care practices and support family-centered approaches that prioritize human milk as the first line of nutrition.
