JULY 2010

Greetings from the Prolacta Team

LATCH… "to acquire understanding of, to comprehend"

We would like to welcome you to this new educational and informational newsletter for the health care professional focused on the use of human milk feeding. Prolacta Bioscience is committed to advancing the science of human milk^™. We are actively engaged in establishing the industry standards regarding the safe processing of human milk.

We are leading the research and development of effective human milk products. We are collaborating with clinicians to identify successful strategies surrounding the use of an exclusively human milk diet to the most vulnerable of infants. Prolacta's newsletter will regularly provide you with a brief synopsis and resource link to topics of interest regarding the science and practice of using human milk in the NICU. We invite you to "latch" on with us in this exciting endeavor.

Donating Breast Milk Supports Breast Cancer Programs and Research

Prolacta Bioscience recognizes the selflessness of mothers who enthusiastically donate their excess breast milk to help critically ill premature infants in the NICU.

In the absence of human milk donors, it would not be possible to provide a 100% human milk diet for critically ill premature babies in need. These donations are now benefitting not only the country's smallest babies, but also the continued fight against breast cancer through the efforts of Susan G. Komen for the Cure^®, the world’s largest breast cancer advocacy organization.

To show recognition to the donors' generosity, Prolacta has pledged to contribute $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for each ounce of qualified human breast milk donated through the Helping Hands Milk Bank (www.helpinghandsbank.com), with a guaranteed minimum annual contribution of $25,000. Prolacta chose this important cause because studies show a correlation between breastfeeding and a reduction in a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.

To learn more, visit:

• www.helpinghandsbank.com
• www.komen.org
• www.prolacta.com

Ensuring the Safety of Donor Milk

The safety of donor human milk and human milk-based products used in the NICU is of critical importance.

Multiple layers of safeguards are employed, beginning with the screening of donors and continuing through the processing and testing of donor milk. One of the most important of those safeguards is pasteurization, which was first developed in the 1860's and has been used for over a century to make dairy products safe for consumption.

Pasteurization is a process which reduces the microbial content of human milk (or other products) by the application of heat for a specified period of time. With human milk products, it is important to balance the time and temperature to achieve the greatest microbial reduction, while maintaining as much biological activity as possible. Pasteurization is also used to prevent bacterial and viral transmission from human plasma derived albumin, one of the safest plasma derived products ever produced.

There are different types of pasteurization that are appropriate for different products. For more information about pasteurization, visit:

Click Here to Learn More

Cost of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

The clinical data from the recently published randomized clinical trial comparing a fully human milk-based diet compared to standard of care (J. Peds.*) demonstrated a significant decrease in the incidence and severity of NEC for a completely human milk diet.

Based on the results of this study, a comprehensive pharmacoeconomic analysis was undertaken. This research evaluated the incremental costs of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) among extremely premature infants (those weighing less than 2 pounds, 12 ounces or 1250 grams at birth) in neonatal intensive care units. The study calculated the cost effectiveness of a 100% human milk diet compared to those fed a standard fortified diet (including bovine-based products) among these infants.

Data from hospital discharges in 2007 in California were obtained from the state and used to calculate the incremental costs of NEC and the additional costs of surgical intervention in this patient population. Costs were adjusted for confounding variables such as comorbidities, demographics, age and mortality.

Based on these expected medical costs, the study demonstrated that feeding extremely premature infants an exclusively human milk diet could result in a net savings of nearly $17,000 per patient. The societal cost savings for the US population of extremely premature infants could range between $400-600 million dollars in direct medical costs and more than $2 billion based on a reduction in infant mortality.

PIH18	ANALYSIS OF NECROTIZING ENTEROCOLITIS COSTS AMONG EXTREMELY PRETERM INFANTS FED EXCLUSIVELY HUMAN-MILK BASED DIET VS. HUMAN-MILK FORTIFIED WITH BOVINE-MILK BASED SUPPLEMENTS
	Ganapathy V1, Hay JW1, Kim J2 1University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA - Abstract presented at ISPOR - May 2010

*Sullivan S, Schanler RJ, Kim JH, et al. An exclusively human milk-based diet is associated with a lower rate if necrotizing enterocolitis than a diet of human milk and bovine milk-based products. J Pediatr.doi:10.1016/jpeds.2009.10.040.

World Breastfeeding Week

August 1-7, 2010 has been declared World Breastfeeding Week. Some of the objectives of this declaration are to: Inform people everywhere of the role of breastfeeding for children’s development and lifelong health and the health of mothers Renew action by health systems, health care providers and communities to make breastfeeding the easy choice for women Enable mothers to enjoy full support for breastfeeding in health care systems and beyond

The term "breastfeeding" is somewhat loosely used in the neonatal intensive care unit. In the NICU, premature infants are frequently separated from their mothers by illness, technology, as well as physical distance. The process of providing human milk to a premature infant can be complex and labor intensive for the medical, nursing and nutritional staff. Breastfeeding in the NICU includes many additional steps - pumping, storing, freezing, thawing, fortifying, mixing, handling and often the delivery of human milk to the infant via indirect routes. Is it worth the effort...

The AAP site: Click Here  |  The WHO site: Click Here