Decreased human milk concentration of epidermal growth factor after preterm delivery of intrauterine growth-restricted newborns.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of the study was to compare epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentration in 81 colostrum samples collected from mothers of newborns in the following growth categories preterm appropriate for gestational age (AGA), preterm small for gestational age (SGA), and full term (FT). RESULTS: Significantly higher concentrations of EGF were found in the colostrum of mothers who delivered premature AGA infants at less than 32 weeks of gestation compared with mothers who delivered premature SGA babies at the same gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the maternal compensatory mechanism accelerating the development of immature breast-fed infants may be disturbed when gestation is complicated by intrauterine growth retardation.