Human milk is known to boost brain development, prevent life-threatening infections, decrease allergies, and promote stronger bones and a higher IQ. But there is a hitch that remains unsolved on how to feed a premature baby, which weighs only ounces and is not able to swallow the milk.

To answer this question, researchers at UC San Diego Medical Center have launched a comprehensive program to study how breast milk can be fed to premature infants and to identify the ingredients that give human milk its life-boosting qualities. Called Supporting Premature Infant Nutrition (SPIN), the new program is focused on the provision, analysis, and research of human milk to improve nutritional and neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm babies. The program is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States.

“UC San Diego Medical Center is a ‘Baby Friendly Hospital’ which means we encourage breastfeeding as the preferred method of infant nutrition for our newborns,” said Neil Finer, M.D., director of neonatology at UC San Diego.

“We are now applying this same model of care to our smallest, most vulnerable infants. The goal is a better understanding of human milk to achieve healthier preemies who are breastfeeding when they leave our hospital,” explained Finer who oversees the recently expanded 49-bed regional neonatal intensive care unit in Hillcrest.

SPIN is a multi-faceted study to examine the chemistry of breast milk, how to best handle and preserve the milk, and how to offer maternal support for milk production in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Team members include neonatologists, gastroenterologists, intensive care nurses, lactation and nutritional experts.