Breast milk cuts infection risk in preemies

Mommies, breast milk has the power to ward off infections in premature babies, suggests a recent study.

Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine found that a manufactured form of lactoferrin, a naturally occurring protein in breast milk, can help protect premature infants from a type of staph infection.

“Babies born with low levels of protective intestinal bacteria are at an increased risk of devastating and sometimes deadly infections,” said lead author Michael Sherman. “Our study found that giving very-low-birth-weight premature infants a manufactured form of lactoferrin can virtually eliminate the germ that causes a staph infection known as staphylococcus epidermidis.”

The researchers studied the immune systems of 120 premature infants in the neonatal intensive care units at MU Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the University of Southern California Children’s Hospital Los Angeles between July 2009 and January 2012. Infants in the trial weighed between 1 pound, 10 ounces, and 3 pounds, 4 ounces, at birth. Sixty of the infants received lactoferrin via a feeding tube twice a day for 28 days to simulate receiving mother’s milk while nursing.

To understand the protein’s role in the development of protective intestinal bacteria, the researchers examined fecal matter of the infants. The researchers found that germs responsible for the colonization of staph infection were virtually eliminated in the newborns who received lactoferrin.

“These germs are the most common cause of in-hospital bloodstream infections in premature babies, causing up to 50 percent of infections,” Sherman said. “As physicians, we’ve had limited knowledge of how lactoferrin affects the development of protective intestinal bacteria. Our study shows that it can modify germs in the bowel of infants, and those germs can protect premature babies from staph infections.”

As part of the study, lactoferrin was provided to the patients at no cost. According to Sherman, lactoferrin can cost an estimated 25 to 500 dollars per dose, though an infection can extend an infant’s hospital stay by 10 to 14 days at a cost of 40,000 to 56,000 dollars.

Though it is too early to recommend lactoferrin as a standard treatment protocol in NICUs across the country, the researchers say more research could shed light on its role in preventing infections.