DUARTE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2024
Prolacta Announces Major Milestone During NICU Awareness Month
DUARTE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prolacta Bioscience today announced a significant milestone in premature infant nutrition. The company's human milk-based nutritional products have been used by more than 50% of Level III and Level IV neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the U.S. in 2024 to care for the most vulnerable premature infants – those born weighing less than 1250 g (2.75 lb).1 The milestone signifies progress in neonatal care and the crucial role human milk plays in reducing complications, including the life-threatening intestinal disease, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
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Over the past 17 years, Prolacta's 100% human milk-based nutritional products (made from donor breast milk) have become an option, over the use of cow milk-based nutrition, for premature infants in the NICU born weighing less than 1250 g.
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The announcement comes during NICU Awareness Month, when professional and parent organizations are raising awareness of the nutritional standards in NICUs. Leading advocates for premature infants and their families support the adoption of human milk-based nutrition in the NICU, including: the National Black Nurses Association, Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, NICU Parent Network, Project NICU, and Once Upon a Preemie, Inc.
"The use of Prolacta's fortifiers and formulas in NICUs across the country represents a significant advancement in neonatal care and recognition of the vital role that human milk-based nutrition plays in the survival and long-term health of extremely premature infants," said Melinda Elliott, MD, FAAP, practicing neonatologist and chief medical officer for Prolacta.
One in 10 babies are born prematurely and nearly 1 million die each year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.2 A recent meta-analysis, "Association of Fortification With Human Milk Versus Bovine Milk-Based Fortifiers on Short-Term Outcomes in Preterm Infants—A Meta-Analysis," found a 50% reduction in mortality among preterm infants fed human milk-based nutritional fortifiers, versus cow milk-based fortifiers.3
A growing body of clinical evidence demonstrates the short- and long-term health benefits to critically ill, premature infants. Compared to cow milk-based products, an Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD) with Prolacta's 100% human milk-based nutritional fortifiers, has been clinically proven in numerous clinical studies to:
NICU Awareness Month is celebrated every September to raise awareness for the critical-care NICUs that care for premature and medically fragile newborns. For more information about Prolacta Bioscience, visit prolacta.com.
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 100,000 extremely premature infants worldwide17 have benefited from Prolacta's human milk-based products, which have been evaluated in more than 30 peer-reviewed clinical studies. 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 at www.prolacta.com, on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Media Contact: Loren Kosmont [email protected]
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SOURCE Prolacta Bioscience
