Processing Human Milk to Increase Nutrient Density for Preterm Infants.

This article focuses on a method to concentrate donor human milk to increase its protein and caloric density for feeding preterm infants while reducing lactose content and osmolality to avoid potential side effects. Using donor milk from the WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank, researchers applied homogenization, evaporative concentration, and chilled centrifugation to precipitate lactose, resulting in a 30%–40% volume reduction that significantly lowered lactose and osmolality without protein loss. The process maintained osmolality within the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommended limits and produced milk with higher nutrient density without adding non-human components. The study suggests that this low-cost method could be implemented in human milk banks to better meet the nutritional needs of preterm infants, though further research on microbiological safety, viscosity effects on feeding, and pasteurization is needed.