NICU Awareness Month Milestone: 125,000 Preemies Helped by Prolacta Bioscience's 100% Breast Milk-Based Nutrition
Prolacta's Fortifiers and Formulas — Made From 100% Donor Breast Milk Instead of Cow Milk — Are Shown to Reduce Complications Like NEC, Helping the Tiniest Premature Babies Thrive
DUARTE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Prolacta Bioscience®, the world's leading hospital provider of 100% human milk-based nutritional products for critically ill and premature infants, celebrates NICU Awareness Month by announcing that its breast milk-based fortifiers and formulas have now helped more than 125,000 preterm and critically ill infants worldwide.1
This milestone signifies progress in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the crucial role 100% breast milk-based nutrition plays in reducing complications of prematurity, including the life-threatening intestinal disease necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).2-4 Since introducing Prolact+ H2MF®, the world's first and only 100% human milk-based fortifier in 2006, Prolacta has contributed to changing the standard of care for vulnerable premature infants. The company's nutritional products are made from 100% donor breast milk and are free from cow milk and other added fats and sugars, such as corn syrup solids.
NICU Awareness Month is celebrated every September to raise awareness for the critical care NICUs provide to premature and medically fragile newborns. Each year in the U.S., about 36,000 babies are born weighing < 2.75 lbs.5 These fragile infants face the highest risk of serious complications, but advances in neonatal nutrition are helping them not just survive, but thrive.
"Reaching more than 125,000 fragile babies is more than a statistic; it represents thousands of families who have seen the difference breast milk-based nutrition can make during the most critical time in their babies' lives," said Scott Elster, CEO of Prolacta. "This milestone reflects the dedication of NICU care teams who understand the pivotal role breast milk-based nutrition plays in the survival and long-term health of the smallest premature infants."
Compared to cow milk-based products, an Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD) with Prolacta's 100% breast milk-based nutritional fortifiers can increase survival6 and is clinically proven to reduce the most common complications of prematurity for the smallest premature infants.2-4,7,8
Breast milk-based nutrition has also been shown to impact developmental milestones years later.9,10 Most recently, an independent study evaluated the association between an EHMD and motor function impairment at 3 years of corrected age. Read more about the published findings here.11
For more information about breast milk-based nutrition, visit parents.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 125,000 extremely premature infants worldwide1 have benefited from Prolacta's human milk-based products, which have been evaluated in more than 30 peer-reviewed clinical studies. In a significant advancement, Prolacta has developed Surgifort®, the first and only FDA-approved human milk-based fortifier designed for term infants recovering from corrective surgery for gastroschisis. 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 online, or on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont
Lkosmont@prolacta.com
310-721-9444
References
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SOURCE Prolacta Bioscience