Human Milk Use in the Preoperative Period Is Associated with a Lower Risk for Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonates with Complex Congenital Heart Disease.

Retrospective study of 546 infants with complex congenital heart disease found that exclusive unfortified human milk feeding preoperatively reduced necrotizing enterocolitis risk by 83%, while feeding volumes exceeding 100 mL/kg/d tripled NEC risk. Findings support human milk as protective nutrition strategy in high-risk cardiac neonates awaiting surgery.