Lauren is currently supporting the COLLABORATE Study: Improving Care for Preterm Babies
She is working with a group of UK investigators called COLLABORATE. The aim of this project is to answer important questions about the best way to support the growth and development of extremely premature babies.
Clinicians want all babies to receive their own mother’s breastmilk. However, expressing breastmilk can be difficult and stressful, especially when a baby is in a neonatal unit. If there isn’t enough breastmilk, doctors need to supplement the baby’s feeds with either pasteurised (heat-treated) human donor milk or a special preterm formula. Both options have pros and cons, and we don’t yet know which is better as a supplement.
Pasteurised human donor milk: Pasteurised donor milk is safe because the heat treatment removes the risk of infection. However, this process also destroys or reduces the protective factors in breastmilk that help fight infection and support growth and brain development.
Fortifier: The nutritional content of human milk may not be enough for extremely preterm babies, so some doctors add extra nutrients (called “fortifiers”) made from cow’s milk. Some doctors believe fortifiers help babies grow stronger, others worry they could result in overfeeding.
Preterm formula: Preterm formula contains consistent levels of nutrients and is carefully regulated. However, some clinicians worry formula, and fortifier might increase the risk of a rare condition called necrotising enterocolitis(NEC) Necrotising enterocolitis is a serious bacterial infection in the intestine. More.
COLLABORATE will resolve the uncertainties around the use of pasteurised human donor milk, preterm formula, and fortifier for extremely preterm babies.
These feeding options are already used in the UK and worldwide but varies from doctor to doctor and neonatal unit to neonatal unit. The goal of COLLABORATE is to find out which approach works best for babies. The study isn’t testing new treatments; it’s about resolving uncertainties that cause anxiety for parents and confusion for clinical teams and finding answers to what gives extremely
preterm babies the best start in life.
Parents and former patients have told us they have wanted answers to these questions for many years.
Watch our co-founder Lauren explain a bit more below.
The COLLABORATE team is looking for parent and patient champions to share their experiences and help make the study a success. Please email COLLABORATE@imperial.ac.uk to get involved!
Click to view their website COLLABORATE | Faculty of Medicine | Imperial College London
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