Pooling Expressed Breastmilk to Provide a Consistent Feeding Composition for Premature Infants

Abstract Objective: We hypothesized that pooling a mother's expressed breastmilk for 24 hours compared with individual pump session collection of milk would provide a more consistent caloric product without increasing bacterial contamination. Study Design: We investigated 24-hour pooled breastmilk collection by enrolling 19 mothers who were expressing milk for their infants. Mothers followed a standardized milk collection protocol for 4 study days: daily milk was pooled in a sterile 1-L bottle on Day 1, and on Day 2 milk was aliquoted for each pump session into a sterile 120-mL container. The next week the order of collection was reversed. Milk samples were plated, incubated, and evaluated for bacteria colonization. Milk samples were analyzed for protein, fat, and carbohydrate content. Results: There was inherently less variability in the caloric and nutrient content of pooled milk compared with individual samples, in which caloric density varied by as much as 29%. Mother's milk had highly variable bacter...