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Review Article Volume 14 Issue 1
Proficiency of human donor milk for preterm infants – a review
Surajit Sarkar
Received: February 16, 2026 | Published: April 16, 2026
Citation: Sarkar S. Proficiency of human donor milk for preterm infants – a review. J Nutr Health Food Eng. 2026;14(1):48-53. DOI: 10.15406/jnhfe.2026.14.00387
Abstract
Cow milk, goat milk or camel milk cannot be full adapted to the composition of human milk owing to discordance in molecular structure of protein and fat or immunological properties. Further the technological innovations made in the commercial infant milk powder have not yet been able to meet the critical nutritional and physiological needs of infants. Mother’s own milk is the best food for feeding both term and preterm infants due to its nutritional and immunological properties but in case of unavailability of mother’s milk, donor human milk (DHM) can be a practical alternate for feeding infants. The nutritional requirement of preterm infants is higher, and human donor milk may not be nutritionally adequate and needs to be fortified with essential nutrients to cater to the growth requirement of preterm infants. Literature (review papers and researched papers) on the significance of breast milk and (DHM) over infant formula for preterm infants was searched using
Keywords: breast milk, donor human milk (DHM), preterm infants, human milk fortification, nutritional requirements, immunological properties, infant formula limitations, adjustable fortification, targeted fortification, probiotic supplementation
©2026 Sarkar. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.