Human milk products given to preterm infants don't modify gut microbiome: JAMA

The study points include the following points:

• The site of the trial was four neonatal intensive care units in the UK (2017-2020).
• Infants under 30 weeks gestation received their mother's milk and were recruited before 72 hours of age.
• The primary Outcomes and Measures include gut microbiome profile.
• The researchers enrolled 126 preterm infants and divided them into two groups: Control and intervention.
• Both the control and intervention group has 63 preterm infants each.
• In the control group, the median gestation was 27 weeks, with median birthweight of 910 g.
• In the intervention group, the median gestation was 27.1 weeks and the median birthweight of 930 g.
• The researchers analyzed 472 stool samples from 116 infants.
• There were no differences in bacterial richness reported.
• The exclusive human milk diet group had a reduced relative abundance of Lactobacillus.

Concluding further, in preterm infants using human milk–derived formula and fortifier to enable an exclusive human milk diet, there were no effects on gut bacterial diversity's overall measure, but there were effects on specific bacterial taxa previously associated with human milk receipt.

They said human milk–derived products' clinical impact is not modulated via microbiomic mechanisms.

Further reading:

Embleton ND, et al. Effect of an Exclusive Human Milk Diet on the Gut Microbiome in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(3):e231165. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.1165