SynthesisArchives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition2007
Donor breast milk versus infant formula for preterm infants: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 113 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
113 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Absence of Evidence of Beneficial Effects of Human Milk-Based Fortifier: A Bayesian Model-Averaged Meta-Analysis.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of milk type and fortification on the growth of low-birthweight infants: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Maternal & child nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Macrolides for the prevention and treatment of feeding intolerance in preterm low birth weight infants: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2021Pooled it
- Protein supplementation of human milk for promoting growth in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Early fortification of human milk versus late fortification to promote growth in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Banked preterm versus banked term human milk to promote growth and development in very low birth weight infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Protein supplementation of human milk for promoting growth in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Milk Feeding and Morbidity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.Nutrients · 2018Pooled it
- Executive summary: evaluation of the evidence to support practice guidelines for nutritional care of preterm infants-the Pre-B Project.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Pooled it
- Probiotics for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants: systematic review and meta-analysis.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2015Pooled it
- Intestinal microbiota development and gestational age in preterm neonates.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- Efficacy of a galactogogue containing silymarin-phosphatidylserine and galega in mothers of preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2016Trial
- Trial
- An exclusive human milk-based diet in extremely premature infants reduces the probability of remaining on total parenteral nutrition: a reanalysis of the data.BMC research notes · 2012Trial
- Improving resilience in human milk banking: workshop proceedings, 11th November, London UK.BMC proceedings · 2026Article
- Human milk and infant formula influence lactobacilli metabolism in a species-specific manner.NPJ science of food · 2026Article
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Term Neonates: A Retrospective Chart Review from Children's Medical Center, Tehran (2020-2023).Archives of Iranian medicine · 2025Article
- Foodborne Infections and Mortality Associated With Expressed Breastmilk, Donated Breastmilk, and Infant Formula in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review of Peer-Reviewed Evidence Cases.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2025Article
- Response to "Repeating the errors of the past: the hazards of a commercial human milk industry" Modi (2024) from the Global Alliance of Milk Banks and Associations.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Perspectives of healthcare workers on the acceptability of donor human milk banking in Southwest Nigeria.International breastfeeding journal · 2024Article
53 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare the effect of donor breast milk with infant formula in preterm infants. Separate comparisons with formula were made for donor breast milk that was: (1) given as a sole diet; (2) given as a supplement to mother's own breast milk; and (3) fortified with macronutrients and micronutrients. The main outcomes were death, necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), infection, growth and development. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases-Cochrane, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and HMIC: DH. REVIEW
methodsSystematic review and meta-analysis of trials and observational studies of preterm or low birthweight infants.
resultsSeven studies (including five randomised controlled trials), all from the 1970s and 1980s, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. All studies compared the effect of sole donor breast milk with formula (combined n = 471). One of these also compared the effect of donor breast milk with formula given as a supplement to mother's own milk (n = 343). No studies examined fortified donor breast milk. A meta-analysis based on three studies found a lower risk of NEC in infants receiving donor breast milk compared with formula (combined RR 0.21, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.76). Donor breast milk was associated with slower growth in the early postnatal period, but its long-term effect is unclear.
conclusionDonor breast milk is associated with a lower risk of NEC and slower growth in the early postnatal period, but the quality of the evidence is limited. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and measure the effect of fortified or supplemented donor breast milk.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.