title: Energy expenditure for breastfeeding and bottle-feeding preterm infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We hypothesized that resting energy expenditure (REE) would be higher after breastfeeding than after bottle-feeding.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nineteen preterm infants (gestational age: 32 weeks) in stable condition who were nourished entirely with their mothers' breast milk were assigned randomly to feeding either by bottle or at the breast. Each infant served as his or her own control subject. REE was measured for 20 minutes after feeding. Breast milk quantity was evaluated with prefeeding and postfeeding weighing. REE values for bottle-feeding and breastfeeding were compared with paired t tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Contrary to our null hypothesis, the group's mean REE values after bottle-feeding and breastfeeding were very similar (284.7 +/- 26.8 kJ/kg per day [68.3 +/- 6.4 kcal/kg per day] vs 282.6 +/- 28.5 kJ/kg per day [67.5 +/- 6.8 kcal/kg per day]; not significant). The duration of feeding was significantly longer for breastfeeding than for bottle-feeding (20.1 +/- 7.9 vs 7.8 +/- 2.9 minutes; P < .0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no significant difference in REE when infants were breastfed versus bottle-fed. Longer feeding times at the breast did not increase REE. We speculate that it is safe to recommend feeding at the breast for infants born at >32 weeks when they can tolerate oral feeding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Irit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weintraub
authors.forename: Shaul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dollberg
authors.forename: Rozalia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kopolovitz
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mandel
mesh_terms: D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors