If your baby is born early, the feeding plan can feel like a huge decision. This study asked whether starting full milk feeds from birth, instead of gradual feeds with IV support, would help preterm babies go home sooner.
Researchers randomly assigned 2,088 preterm infants born between 30 and 32 weeks across 46 UK hospitals to one of the two feeding approaches. They tracked how long babies stayed in the hospital and what it cost. The main finding: there was no real difference in hospital stay between the two groups. The full milk group had about half a day shorter stay, but that could easily be due to chance.
The study also looked at costs. The full milk group had lower total costs—about £670 less per baby—but this reduction wasn't statistically significant either. No safety problems were reported, but the study didn't track long-term outcomes. The results suggest early full feeding might be economically promising for some subgroups, but we need more research to be certain.