6 Nov 2025 • The FEED1 trial revealed that feeding preterm infants full milk from day one was as safe as gradual feeding.

The trial involving over 2,000 infants born between 30 and 32 weeks found that the average hospital stays (32.4 vs. 32.1 days), necrotizing enterocolitis (0.4% vs. 0.6%), average number of blood glucose tests <2.2 mmol/L (0.6 vs. 0.5), and serious adverse events (0.8% vs. 1.0%) were all identical in both groups. Survival to discharge exceeded 99% in both groups.

These findings confirm that early exclusive enteral feeding can be safely adopted without prolonging hospital stay or increasing complications, supporting a shift toward simplified, milk-only nutrition protocols for moderately preterm infants.

Source: The Lancet | Read Full Story