title: [The success of maternal feeding with very low birth weight premature infants, singletons and twins: a 10-year experience].
abstract: There are very few reports about the feasibility of maternal milk feeding in very low birthweight preterm infants (VLBW), especially in twins. Therefore we conducted a cohort retrospective study to evaluate the feeding patterns of the 226 VLBW discharged from our neonatal intensive care unit from 1987 to 1996. Their gestational age was 30 +/- 2.6 weeks, birthweight 1166 +/- 224 g and they were hospitalized for 67 +/- 37 days (means +/- 1 SD). Of the 226 VLBW 49% were males, 39% had birthweight below 10 degrees centile for gestational age and 56% were born to non-residents in our area. There were 181 single births and 45 (20%) multiple births, of which 16 from pregnancies with 3 or more fetuses. Of the total cases 22% were discharged feeding maternal milk (MM) exclusively and 21% on mixed-feeding, maternal + formula milk (FM). Percentages were respectively 23% and 18% for single newborns, 11% and 29% for twins. Singletons and twins were discharged on FM with comparable percentages (59 and 60%). With passing years we have noticed a significant increase (chi square for linear trend < 0.01) for maternal milk feeding. In the last 2 years 49% of singletons and 38% of twins were discharged on MM, 14% and 24% on MM + FM, and only 37% and 38% on FM only. Between singletons and twins there were no statistically significant differences as far as feeding at discharge is concerned.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  most mothers, if correctly informed and encouraged, are able to breast-feed, exclusively or partially, their VLBW offspring, including twins, in the first months of life.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Neonatologia e Terapia Intensiva Neonatale, Istituto per l'Infanzia Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Colonna
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuttini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Melon
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: de Vonderweid
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007225:Infant Food; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014427:Twins