Study: Despite Being Born Earlier and Weighing Less, Preemies Fed Prolacta's Exclusive Human Milk Diet Had Lower Motor Skill Disability Risk by Age 3 Compared to Larger Preemies Fed Cow Milk-Based Products

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Aug 20, 2025, 09:05 ET

Exclusive Human Milk Diet Significantly Impacts Developmental Milestones Years Later

DUARTE, Calif., Aug. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A groundbreaking study has revealed something remarkable about premature babies fed Prolacta Bioscience's Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD): Despite being born earlier and weighing less — factors that typically predict greater developmental challenges — they still achieved better motor skills by age 3 than did larger preemies born later who received cow milk-based products. The independent research, published in the Journal of Perinatology, offers compelling new evidence of the long-term benefits of an EHMD for the most vulnerable babies.

The study is the first independent, long-term follow-up examining motor skills, revealing that early nutritional choices in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can impact developmental milestones years later. These positive results also suggest the need for further study of an EHMD in larger infants >30 weeks and/or >1,250 g.

"Infants born before 32 weeks of gestation fed an EHMD demonstrate reduced risk of motor function impairment, highlighting its benefits beyond the NICU hospitalization for this vulnerable population," said the study authors.

Conducted at 13 NICUs in Southern California, the study followed more than 1,000 infants born before 32 weeks of gestation. While feeding practices varied by hospital, researchers applied robust statistical methods to ensure a fair comparison between infants who received an EHMD and those who did not, carefully accounting for factors like differences in birth weight, gestational age, and medical complications.

The powerful implications were captured in a Scienmag.com article on the study: "The association between an exclusive human milk diet and diminished motor impairment risk at three years corrected age presents a beacon of hope for improving neurodevelopmental outcomes."

Key study findings:

An EHMD — comprising mother's own milk and/or pasteurized donor breast milk supplemented with Prolacta's 100% human milk-based nutritional fortifiers — reduced the odds of long-term motor skill disability by 26% compared to babies who received cow milk-based products.¹
"Our current study suggests that the bioactive components in an EHMD collectively offer significant benefits to preterm infants," said the study authors. These components include essential fatty acids that are critical for brain development.
Despite being born earlier (27 weeks vs. 30 weeks gestational age) and weighing more than 300 g less at birth (963.5 g vs. 1303.1 g), infants in the EHMD group still demonstrated better long-term motor development outcomes than those fed cow milk-based products, highlighting the positive impact of human milk nutrition.¹ (Full study data prior to weighting. Reference the article for study data analysis.)

The findings reinforce earlier research showing an EHMD supports improved brain development in the smallest premature infants.^2,3

"This research demonstrates that the benefits of an exclusive human milk-based diet have a lasting impact, with developmental advantages still evident years later," said Melinda Elliott, MD, FAAP, practicing neonatologist and chief medical officer at Prolacta. "Parents deserve to know that for the tiniest premature infants, breast milk supplemented with a human milk-based fortifier provides the best foundation for their child's future."

The new study was conducted independently and led by Fu-Sheng Chou, M.D., Ph.D.

About Prolacta Bioscience

Prolacta Bioscience^® is a global life sciences company dedicated to Advancing the Science of Human Milk^® to improve health outcomes for critically ill and premature infants. More than 125,000 extremely premature infants worldwide⁴ have benefited from Prolacta's human milk-based products, which have been evaluated in more than 30 peer-reviewed clinical studies. In a significant advancement, Prolacta has developed Surgifort^®, the first and only FDA-approved human milk-based fortifier designed for term infants recovering from corrective surgery for gastroschisis. Operating the world's first pharmaceutical-grade human milk processing facilities, Prolacta maintains the industry's strictest quality and safety standards, with over 20 validated tests for screening and testing human milk. Prolacta's manufacturing process uses vat pasteurization to ensure pathogen inactivation while protecting nutritional composition and bioactivity. Learn more online or at X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont
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References

Chou FS, Zhang J, Villosis MFB, et al. Exclusive human milk diet is associated with lower risk of motor function impairment at three years of corrected age. J Perinatol. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02296-z
Hair AB, Patel AL, Kiechl-Kohlendorfer U, et al. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants fed an exclusive human milk-based diet versus a mixed human milk + bovine milk-based diet: a multi-center study. J Perinatol. 2022;42(11):1485-1488. https://doi.com/10.1038/s41372-022-01513-3
Bergner EM, Shypailo R, Visuthranukul C, et al. Growth, body composition, and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years among preterm infants fed an exclusive human milk diet in the neonatal intensive care unit: a pilot study. Breastfeed Med. 2020;15(5):304-311. doi:10.1089/bfm.2019.0210
Data on file; estimated number of premature infants fed Prolacta's products from January 2007 to May 2025.