Podcasts about prolacta

In honor of Mother's Day, this week's podcast episode is a special episode where DNM team members read out-loud letters that they have written for this community. This Mother's Day, our hope is that you offer yourself the grace and permission to feel the duality of both grief and joy of longing and gratitude. Whether you are celebrating in or out of the NICU, with full or empty arms, or with a close few or a large group, we hope you know how remarkable of a mother that you are.Happy Mother's Day, NICU Mama. This sisterhood is so incredibly proud of you.To learn more about Prolacta mentioned in this episode, head here!To get connected with DNM:Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy World Maternal Mental Health Day to this wonderful sisterhood and NICU mama community! This week we have the honor of welcoming back Dr. Frankie Harrison of Miracle Moon to talk all about the basics of maternal mental health.In this episode we cover:What is maternal mental health?How does the practice of a maternal mental health therapist differ from a traditional practicing therapist? Why is this important to consider when finding a provider postpartum?How long is the “postpartum window”?What is “normal” postpartum, and what are some signs that a mom may need additional support?For NICU moms, sometimes the postpartum period feels that it extends far beyond a typical postpartum window. What encouragement would you offer NICU moms who have significant distance from their birth experiences, but still don't feel quite like themselves?No matter where you are in your postpartum healing journey, know that your experience is valid and you are worthy and deserving of support. This sisterhood heals with you!Dr Frankie Harrison is a clinical psychologist who specializes in supporting parents through their NICU journeys and beyond. Frankie is also a NICU mama herself, she had her first baby at 31+1 due to pre-eclampsia, so knows first-hand the impact NICU can have on your wellbeing. She runs an online community called miraclemoonuk where she shares psychological knowledge for people to normalize and validate people's experiences. She also runs a private practice where she helps people individually and runs courses to make psychological support accessible.To get connected with FrankieWebsite | Instagram | Facebook | Miracle Moon PodcastTo get connected with DNM:Website | Private Facebook Group | InstagramTo learn more about Prolacta mentioned in this episode, head here!This podcast episode is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide medical advice. All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elizabeth Simonton is the Co-Founder and CEO of ICU baby, the largest volunteer based organization in Florida to support families with a baby in the NICU.  Elizabeth is an attorney and former small business owner who started ICU baby in 2014 after having a NICU experience of her own. ICU baby has helped hundreds of NICU families each year since being founded and has won awards from the United Way of Miami-Dade and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce for innovative programming to meet community needs.  Elizabeth received her B.S. from Furman University with a double major in psychology and political science and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Richmond Law School in 2005.  Elizabeth and the PAIRED Parent Advisory Committee won the 2021 Director's Award from the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, was named a 2019 Miami Leader by the Miami Foundation and is a graduate of Radical Partners' Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp's Cohort 6. Find out more about Elizabeth and this episode at: www.the-incubator.org/062-elizabeth-simonton/______________________________________________________________________________________As always, feel free to send us questions, comments or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through instagram or twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. enjoy!This podcast is proudly sponsored by Chiesi and Prolacta.

M&H get into the topic of human milk donor exploitation - it's a real thing and can effect lactating people who are trying to do good by others. This is a cautionary tale for everyone out there, and one well worth listening to.Listener Question: What can I take for a headache while I'm breastfeeding?Become a VIP listener at patreon.com/milkminutepodcast.To send us feedback, personal stories, or just to chat you can send us an email at milkminutepodcast@gmail.comFACEBOOK COMMUNITY https://www.facebook.com/groups/breastfeedingforbusymomsINSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/milk_minute_podcast/SHOW NOTES https://breastfeedingforbusymoms.com/podcast/2021-05-057/RESOURCES:Human Milk Banking Association of America https://www.hmbana.org/Prolacta https://www.prolacta.com/en/Medolac https://www.medolac.com/Episode 37- The History of Breast Pumps https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-minute-podcast-breastfeeding-chestfeeding-lactating/id1521075273?i=1000503491967Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association https://blackmothersbreastfeeding.org/NeoLacta https://neolacta.com/Mid-Atlantic Mother's Milk Bank https://midatlanticmilkbank.org/Episode 52- Interview with The Milk Bank https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/milk-minute-podcast-breastfeeding-chestfeeding-lactating/id1521075273?i=1000516524871THANK YOU TO THIS EPISODE'S SPONSORSHappi Tummi - HappiTummi.com Use code MILKMINUTE10 for 10% offLiquid IV - LiquidIV.com Use code MILKMINUTE for 25% off, free shipping and a free giftSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/milkminutepodcast)

Hayley gets personal as she shares her own candid experience with breastfeeding and formula, how she decided which was right for her, and the major physical and emotional toll of postpartum. In the second half of the episode, Jess breaks down everything you need to know about feeding your newborn and baby with confidence: the benefits of breastmilk, destigmatizing formula, how to know if your baby's getting enough, when and how to give a bottle, mastitis, nutrition for mom and baby, increasing your supply, and what to look for when choosing a formula.  Donor Milk: It's important to find donated milk from a trusted source as breastmilk sold over the internet is strongly discouraged by the Academy of Breastfeedings 2017 Position Statement because the donor is unknown, the donors health is not screened, and the breastmilk is often not safely handled in the process of sharing. Below are some trusted resources. It is also always advised to ask your healthcare provider (OB-GYN, primary care physician, midwife, and/or certified lactation consultant). MilkShare Human Milk 4 Human Babies You can also donate your breastmilk for critically ill or premature infants to thrive at Prolacta. Favorite Bottles: Stay tuned for all our favorite infant feeding products and resources launching on our website early April.  Glass Dr. Browns Comotomo  Produced by Dear Media.

In this episode:Neonatalogist Dr Evelyn D Rider talks about the benefits of early fortification with human milk–based fortifiers in babies born weighing

Technology is playing an ever-increasing role in our daily lives, including the lives of infant patients in neonatal intensive care units and their parents. Units around the world are introducing webcam technology - NICView cameras - that allows parents to see their children at any time. One such unit is the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, where Dr. Jennifer Toye works. Dr. Toye is a neonatologist, as well as a board member of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation. On this episode of With You in the NICU, she shares her thoughts on how the technology works in her unit and how it impacts both families and healthcare providers. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

Registered dietitian Stacia Pegram discusses:Evidence regarding the use of a human milk caloric fortifier for preterm infantsRole of Prolacta’s human milk caloric fortifier as a part of an Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD)Strategies for maximizing nutrient delivery in an EHMDShow notes:Learn more about Prolact CR®Prolact CR® Preparation GuidelinesRogers SP, Hicks PD, Hamzo M, Veit LE, Abrams SA. Continuous feedings of fortified human milk lead to nutrient losses of fat, calcium, and phosphorous. Nutrients. 2010;2(3):230-240. doi:10.3390/nu2030240 Hair AB, Blanco CL, Moreira AG, et al. Randomized trial of human milk cream as a supplement to standard fortification of an exclusive human milk-based diet in infants 750-1250 g birth weight. J Pediatr. 2014;165(5):915-920. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.07.005Hair AB, Bergner EM, Lee ML, et al. Premature infants 750-1250 g birth weight supplemented with a novel human milk-derived cream are discharged sooner. Breastfeed Med. 2016;11:133-137. doi:10.1089/bfm.2015.0166 Tabata M, Abdelrahman K, Hair AB, Hawthorne KM, Chen Z, Abrams SA. Fortifier and cream improve fat delivery in continuous enteral infant feeding of breast milk. Nutrients. 2015;7(2):1174-1183. doi:10.3390/nu7021174Knake LA, King BC, Gollins LA, et al. Optimizing the use of human milk cream supplement in very preterm infants: growth and cost outcomes. Nutr Clin Pract. doi:10.1002/ncp.10423

In this episode:Scott Eaker describes the stringent screening process for breastmilk donors to become Prolacta donors. Prolacta’s testing and manufacturing practices provide the safest and highest quality nutritional products for neonatal care. Bio:Scott Eaker is the chief operations officer at Prolacta Bioscience, responsible for operations, quality, regulatory affairs, and supply chain. Prior to Prolacta, Eaker worked at Baxter Healthcare, overseeing the development and deployment of standardized quality systems across multiple biologic and medical device manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Europe.

Navigating the world of health care often feels overwhelming, especially when you feel that the staff don’t understand your concerns and worries. Sue Robins is trying to change that by reminding us all about the power in sharing our own stories. She is the author of Bird’s Eye View: Stories of a life lived in health care. She is also a mother who has spent many, many hours interacting with the health care system as both parent, patient, and professional.   With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.  

There is a growing focus on mental health and well-being, both among healthcare officials and society in general, but we sometimes skip over the simple discussions that help us understand just what terms like anxiety and post-partum depression actually mean and how they might show up in ourselves and our loved ones. Kasia Pytlik is a social worker who helps parents with children in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. She offers some insight to the various emotional ups and downs parents experience in the NICU. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

While it's true that children don't really come with a manual, two Canadian nurses have made sure that preemie parents have a book to guide them along the beginning of their journey. Karen Lasby and Tammy Sherrow published Preemie Care: A Guide to Navigating the First Year with Your Premature Baby in early 2019. The book is a mix of first-person stories and facts to help families navigate the first few months of a premature baby’s life. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

  The importance of breastmilk is not difficult to understand – but finding the determination to work through the challenges of producing it can be a heavy burden for many mothers. Preemie moms often face additional hurdles, waiting for baby to be able to latch or even consume much milk. Doris Sawatzky-Dickson spent more than 30 years as a clinical nurse specialist, NICU educator, and lactation consultant before transitioning into healthcare consulting. She shares her best tips and advise for pumping mothers in this episode.   With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.    

Making space for yourself might be the biggest parenting challenge of all – but the benefits are worth the investment. NICU parents in particular can struggle with guilty feelings associated with taking time for themselves, but mother and writer Jennifer Robson makes a compelling argument as to why it’s critically important to tap into your own creativity and interests during stressful times.   With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.  

  Sleep can be a triggering word for parents. From the often-suggested ‘nap when the baby naps’ to bedtime battles with toddlers, sleep can often seem anything but restful. But its importance should not be marginalized, for both parents and children. Doctor Robyn Stremler is a Toronto-based professor and researcher who specializes in improving sleep and health outcomes for infants, children, and parents. She offers her insights for parents of preemies in this episode. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

  For years, parents of premature babies felt excluded from their infant’s care – in large part because they were. Recently, things have changed in many NICUs, thanks to an approach called Family Integrated Care. Jack Hourigan and her husband, Andy Fenton, were the first parents to take part in the program in Canada. Their daughter, Tess, arrived three months early. Today, Jack and Tess both work to advocate for preemies and parents. Jack joins host and fellow preemie mom, Jenna Morton, on this episode of With You in the NICU. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

There is so much information front and centre when it comes to pregnancy and infants, it’s easy to miss what you need to know to take care of yourself, Mama. This podcast episode focuses on your physical health, particularly in relation to post-delivery concerns you should be keeping in mind as you heal. Our guide to this topic is Katie Kelly, a certified pelvic floor physiotherapist, instructor, and podcaster from New Brunswick. Katie works with patients of all ages and genders and with various challenges, including post-natal recovery. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

  When you’re looking at your premature infant, it can be hard to visualize them in the future, grown and out in the world. Knowing the stories of other preemies can help. Kimberley McRae is a university student, a member of Canada's national luge team, a two-time Olympian, and a NICU graduate. She joins host Jenna Morton to talk about her accomplishments and how her early days shape who she is today. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

  The transition from NICU to home is a tricky one; a day filled with both hope and anxiety for many parents, heading into an unknown world after so much time spent surrounded by specialists. On this episode of With You in the NICU, neonatologist and developmental pediatrician Dr. Paige Church discusses some of the common concerns parents share and how they might prepare for the transition to home. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

Marianne Bracht spent more than four decades as a neonatal nurse, supporting families and other medical professionals at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Today, she’s a key volunteer with the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, helping with the Family Ambassador program that aims to support NICU families. She joins the podcast to talk about the risks and realities of dealing with germs and illnesses in relation to infants, particularly preemies. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

One of the hardest parts of being a NICU parent is wondering how much pain your child is enduring through IVs, vaccinations, blood tests, and more. To learn more about pain management for children, With You in the NICU host Jenna Morton is joined by Dr. Christine Chambers. Dr. Chamber holds the Canada Research Chair in Children’s Pain, teaches in the departments of pediatrics, psychology, and neuroscience at Dalhousie University, and is the Scientific Director of Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP), a new national knowledge mobilization network. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

For many parents, the arrival of baby comes with certain expectations and plans as to how labour and birth will take place. Unfortunately, the reality for many parents is far from their expectation – particularly so when your infant becomes a NICU patient. On this episode of With You in the NICU, host and preemie mom, Jenna Morton, talks about dealing with the unexpected challenges of birth with Dr. Sarah Hardy Walsh, a qualified naturopathic doctor and lactation consultant in New Brunswick, who focuses on women's and children's health. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

Mamas who spend time in the NICU know there is an intense focus on collecting and providing breastmilk for infant patients. On this episode of With You in the NICU, host (and former pumper) Jenna Morton talks with Dr. Rebecca Hoban about why human milk is so important for preemies and other NICU patients, as well as tackling some of the challenges moms face in producing and pumping. Dr. Rebecca Hoban is a neonatologist and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto. She is the Director of Breastfeeding Medicine at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

Learning to advocate for yourself and your child is a skill that will serve you well, both inside and outside of the NICU. So is learning to care for yourself, alongside your child. Ann Douglas helps parents learn these skills and more through her parenting books, and shares some of her wisdom with With You in the NICU host, Jenna Morton. Ann Douglas is a Canadian author known for her best-selling series, The Mother of All Pregnancy books. She has also published Parenting Through the Storm and Happy Parents, Happy Kids, released in February 2019 by HarperCollins Canada. With You in the NICU is a podcast for those that care for infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. The discussions are geared toward parents of preemies, but will resonate with anyone spending time beside a NICU isolette. With You in the NICU is a project of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, with funding from presenting sponsor Medela and support from AbbVie and Prolacta. The podcast's host and producer is Jenna Morton; technical producer is Tosh Taylor.

Kelli speaks with the CEO of Prolacta Bioscience, Scott Elster, about the process used by Prolacta and who the company serves. Scott speaks about the nutritional needs of NICU babies and explains where Prolacta obtains the milk it uses and how women can donate their milk.

Kelli speaks with the CEO of Prolacta Bioscience, Scott Elster, about the process used by Prolacta and who the company serves. Scott speaks about the nutritional needs of NICU babies and explains where Prolacta obtains the milk it uses and how women can donate their milk.

In This Episode: Kelli’s overwhelming emotions upon meeting her micropreemie son Jackson for the first time. What is anticipatory grief and what does it mean for NICU parents? What emotions can parents expect when faced with a NICU experience/meeting their baby for the first time? The different ways in which grief and shame manifest themselves in NICU parents. How moms and dads process guilt/grief differently. This episode is sponsored by Prolacta Bioscience. 

In this episode: How parents can avoid letting stress and anxiety take over and find their footing in the NICU. Advice for empowering yourself as a parent and becoming your baby’s advocate. How to embrace your feelings of guilt and inadequacy, for they are normal, but to let go of the expectations you one had for your pregnancy/baby. Guilt about fears of caring for a disabled child. This episode is sponsored by Prolacta Bioscience. 

Dr. Martin Lee. Photo courtesy of Prolacta Bioscience. Episode 4 features Dr. Martin Lee, Vice President of Clinical Research and Development at Prolacta Bioscience. During this episode, Dr. Lee provides a comprehensive overview of a 100% or exclusive human milk diet in the prevention of NEC in extremely premature babies, those weighing less than 1250 grams (2 pounds 12 ounces) and who have the greatest risk for developing the disease. He discusses: * His transition from the blood industry to Prolacta, which developed of the world’s first human milk-based human milk fortifier * What constitutes a 100% or exclusive human milk diet * The clinical evidence showing a 70% reduction in NEC, an 8-fold reduction in surgical NEC, and a 4-fold reduction in mortality through the use of exclusive human milk diet * The importance of safety in the breast milk industry, including Prolacta’s rigorous product testing and donor safety profiles which parallel blood industry standards. Copyright © 2015 The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund, Inc. This episode was produced in part by the TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network. [powerpress] STEPHANIE VAUGHAN, HOST: Welcome to Episode 4 of Speaking of NEC—a free, audio podcast series about Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Produced by The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund, and funded by The Petit Family Foundation, Speaking of NEC is a series of one-on-one conversations with relevant NEC experts—neonatologists, clinicians and researchers—that highlights current prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for NEC, and the search for a cure. For more information about this podcast series or The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund, visit our website at morgansfund.org. Hello, my name is Stephanie Vaughan. Welcome to the show. I’m the Co-founder and President of The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund. Today, my guest will be Dr. Martin Lee, Vice President of Clinical Research and Development at Prolacta Bioscience, which “creates specialty formulations made from human milk for the nutritional needs of premature infants in neonatal intensive care units.” Last October (2014), while attending the annual Preemie Parent Summit in Phoenix, Arizona, I had the pleasure of meeting Prolacta’s Chief Executive Officer Scott Elster. During our conversation, I was invited on a tour of the company. A few weeks later, along with a group of representatives from various preemie organizations throughout the country, I flew out California to tour Prolacta’s human milk processing facility, and to learn more about the people and research behind the company. I was highly impressed by all aspects of Prolacta from the manufacturing plant itself to the rigorous testing their products undergo throughout their processing. Even more impressive to me is the fact that everyone that we met at Prolacta has a personal connection to prematurity. The CEO himself is the parent of twins born prematurely. And, I was shocked to learn that one of the key reasons the company was formed, and their products developed, was to reduce the incidence Necrotizing Enterocolitis. The company’s reason for existing is the prevention of NEC. And the research presented to us by Dr. Lee was stunning. So when we began producing this series, it was only fitting to invite Dr. Lee to share the benefits of an exclusive human milk diet to premature infants and the clinical research supporting its use. With that in mind, let me introduce my guest today. This is Dr. Martin Lee from Prolacta Bioscience. And I’m so glad you could be with me here today. How are you? MARTIN LEE, GUEST: Good. How are you doing Stephanie? STEPHANIE: Good, good. So in previous podcasts, we’ve talked to doctors that are attending neonatologists and researchers. So I would like to give you the opportunity to give a little bit of your background and how you got involved with research in NEC. DR. LEE: OK. Absolutely. Well, I spent probably most of my career doing clinical research with various types of pharmaceutical and biotech products. I started with a company you’ve probably heard of called Baxter approximately 35 years ago, and I spent a good number of years working with them. And how that’s relevant to our discussion today is I was working with their group that manufactures blood products, and obviously blood is a significant human fluid, has many of the same issues with regards to safety that we have with breast milk. And so I learned a lot about some of the testing that needs to be done, some of the safety factors that we need to consider. And then I would say about 15 years ago, I met someone who was talking about forming a company who basically wanted to bring breast milk and breast milk products to premature infants so that they would have the benefit of receiving 100% human milk diet, particularly the smallest of the small premature infants. So together we started the company Prolacta. And the whole idea of course in starting the company was to put it‚…I think the most important thing was to put it on a firm clinical scientific basis. And that meant doing really important well-designed clinical trials to evaluate the most important morbidities like NEC, in particular, and even mortality in premature infants, infants certainly that had a high risk of both of those consequences of prematurity. STEPHANIE: OK. Maybe not all of the people that will be listening fully understand…what is an exclusively human milk-based diet? Can you get into that a little bit? DR. LEE: Absolutely. So obviously we know‚…we meaning pretty much the world understands that the best thing a newborn baby can be fed is mother’s milk. And for term babies, that is obviously going to be sufficient. They’re born at the right time and usually at a sufficient weight and mother’s milk has all the good things in it that help the baby to grow, help their immune system to develop, help their organs to develop, importantly it helps their brain to grow at the right rate. But a premature baby by definition is born too soon. And we specialize‚…the work that we’ve done at Prolacta,…specializes in the infants that are born as much as 27 weeks or 12 weeks premature so 27 weeks since the time of gestation. When those babies are born, they have a lot of problems obviously because they’ve come out of the womb way too early. And one of the things that of course they are is way too small. The average baby that we’ve studied in our research trials is less than a thousand grams. That’s around two pounds. Now most people know that the average baby is 6-7-8 pounds. And so they’re born so small that what happens is that mother’s milk which of course comes in when the baby’s born‚…nature didn’t intend mother’s milk to be able to feed these type of babies. This is an unfortunate consequence of something that happened with the mother, something that‚…injury, genetics, whatever it is that would cause a baby to be born premature, the milk comes in, but it cannot feed that baby well enough. And what I mean by that is the baby needs to grow. He needs to grow a lot. The baby needs to have their immune system protected by the mom’s milk, and so on and so forth. So obviously we always talk about mother’s milk being the thing for a newborn baby. It’s not enough for these premature infants. So what they need is what we call a fortifier, something with a little extra kick to the baby. And there are fortifiers that have been on the market for a long time. They’re made by the formula companies. And naturally these fortifiers are made from cow’s milk. And cow’s milk is not the best thing for a premature infant. It may not be the best thing for babies in general, but besides the point, it’s certainly not the best thing for a premature infant. So when we’re talking about 100% or exclusive human milk diet, we’re talking about mom’s milk; we’re talking about a fortifier which is necessary for the baby to grow and to be protected from infection and so on and so forth. That comes from human milk. And what Prolacta did was develop the world’s first human-milk human milk fortifier. And in fact, it sounds like a mouthful because when we talk about human milk fortifier, general people realize or may not realize that that’s a cow’s milk-based fortifier. We make the one from human milk. So that’s what we mean by 100% diet. And then one other thing just to add to that, Stephanie, is sometimes mom’s milk doesn’t come in enough or the baby wants it or needs to eat more, get more milk, so then there’s donor milk involved too. And that’s another aspect of the 100% diet. And of course donor milk is coming from other moms, which again provides the additional nutrition that the baby needs. And there you have the entire spectrum of what we mean by 100% human milk diet. STEPHANIE: OK. Thank you. Yeah, I know that there’s probably a bit of confusion amongst parents new to the NICU that human milk fortifier is a fortifier put into human milk, and not necessarily made with human milk. So I know that that does tend to cause a little confusion. DR. LEE: Right. STEPHANIE: So thank you for clarifying that. DR. LEE: Sure. STEPHANIE: So I guess I’ll ask you to go into a little bit of the research because I find it fascinating. As you know, we were out to your facility in November and I thought that this is a fabulous company. I was not aware of it when our babies were in the NICU and I will just make a tiny note that I know you’ve got significant statistics showing the benefit of human milk and exclusive human milk. Unfortunately for Morgan, he fell in to that other small percentage that I did pump. But he developed NEC so rapidly at four days old being born at 28 weeks. At four days old he developed NEC and I don’t think he had two feedings. So there are babies that get it even when all attempts are made to have an exclusive human milk diet. DR. LEE: Sure. STEPHANIE: And I also know that my other son, Shaymus, his milk was fortified, and to be honest, I’m sure it probably wasn’t with an exclusive human milk fortifier. So just some things to sort of give everyone background. And again, that was, you know, four years ago, 2010-2011. DR. LEE: Sure. I hope…I assume they’re doing OK today, right? STEPHANIE: Yes, yes. Everybody’s doing very well today… DR. LEE: Excellent. Excellent. STEPHANIE: which I think is why I’m so personally‚…my personal opinion is that your products are wonderful and, you know, things being what they were then versus now, I would definitely advocate for 100% human milk diet and advocate for this if I was a parent in the NICU now. So I think it’s great to get this information out to people. DR. LEE: Sure. Absolutely. So your question concerned the type of studies we did. Well, as I said to begin our conversation, we recognized that the only way that people‚…the medical community, both neonatologists, nurses, lactation people‚…would appreciate and realize the importance of what 100% human milk diet does and helps as far as the baby is concerned is to do proper research. As I said earlier, my experience is in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries where doing formal randomized controlled all the kinds of bells and whistles that need to be done when you need to license a drug or a biologic for marketing in this country and other places in the world as well. That’s standard stuff. So when we set out to do these studies, we said what we’re doing here is just as important, just as the need for rigor has to be here as it would be in any other kind of situation where you’re testing a new medical intervention. And that’s what this is. So we decided right off the bat we would get together the best of the best as far as the neonatologists in this country are concerned, and we brought them together and we set up a protocol. And basically the protocol was based on a very simple premise. It is 100% human milk diet better than feeding a baby mom’s milk fortifying then with standard human milk fortifier and then if all else fails or at least maybe not be sufficient than using formula. That’s standard practice for premature infants in this country. It was in 2007 when we started this trial and to a large extent it still is today. So it’s 100% human milk diet standard of care which includes cow’s milk based fortifier and formula. Babies in this study were randomized which is‚…you know, it’s a fairly simple term, but just to make sure everybody understands what I mean by that, the decision when a parent agreed to have their baby be participating in the study which group they get into, the Prolacta or the 100% diet versus standard of care was essentially a coin flip, not literally of course, but that’s the basis. Now why do you do that? Because that’s the best way to design studies. It provides an unbiased approach to making the decision of treatment of nutritional treatment, taking it out of the hands of anybody and putting it in the hands of strictly chance. So you randomize babies. There was a sufficient number of babies in the first study we did. There was over 200 babies that were randomized and I think it was 12 centers around the country. And what we were looking for in this study was whether or not they develop NEC and that was the most significant endpoint of the study. There were other things that we looked at. We looked at how much parenteral nutrition they received. We looked at other things. We looked at sepsis. We looked at‚…which is essentially bacterial infection that circulates in the bloodstream. We looked at hospital days. We looked at days on a respirator/ventilator and so on and so forth. But the main endpoint in this study was Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Now, the babies, by the way, that we used in this study or the babies that constituted the population of the study were babies under 1250 grams (2 pounds 12 ounces) down to 500 grams (1 pound 1 ounce). Very simple reason for that. I think many of the people listening will know that there’s a classification of premature infancy called very low birth weight. And that’s babies under 1500 grams (3 pounds 4.91 ounces). But we said, you know, we want to get the babies that have the highest risk of NEC. So we didn’t use, if you will, the heaviest babies in that weight category because they have, it turns out, the lowest risk of NEC out of all very low birth weight babies. So we took away that 1250-gram group. We also didn’t go below 500 grams because unfortunately, babies born less than 500 grams which is really about a pound or less have unfortunately not a high chance of either succeeding in life really and survival or they have a lot of other problems that make it very difficult to evaluate then. So it was 500 to 1250. That’s basically, I think, the most important aspect. And like I said, they were randomized. We followed them for a period of 90 days, maximum 90 days. Babies could have gotten off the study earlier if they got on to mostly oral nutrition which of course hopefully babies all do because they start off with what’s called parenteral nutrition which means they get their feed essentially through intravenous feeding. They then transition off of that onto enteral feeding which is typically a tube that goes either through their nose or directly through their mouth into their stomach. And that’s called enteral feeding. And then they go to oral feeding. So babies who are on for 90 days or if they got to oral feeding sooner, then they were off the study. Very simply, just to summarize what constitutes a fairly complex study to manage, we found a magnificent reduction in Necrotizing Enterocolitis. The babies in the standard of care group had a NEC rate of about 16%. Or put simply, that one in every six babies develop NEC that got some sort of cow’s milk protein or cow’s milk diet. The babies who got 100% diet was less than 6%. That 16 to 6 is about 70% reduction, and that is phenomenal. We’ve had some of the really very famous neonatologists told us that they don’t see‚…you don’t see that kind of reduction with really any intervention that they’re used to seeing. You just don’t see that. You see incremental things. But now all of a sudden we cut NEC by 70% by doing this. And it even gets more impressive when you consider that the majority of babies or at least half the babies who develop NEC have to go on to have surgery. STEPHANIE: Right. DR. LEE: And that is a really serious consequence not only just from the fact that a premature infant has to go on to major surgery and they take out part of their digestive tract. But even worse, they have a reasonably high mortality rate. So in this study, the rate of NEC surgery of all those babies that were in the two groups, it was at 11% in the standard of care arm and only just over 1% in the Prolacta arm. We reduced the rate of NEC surgery by eight fold, I mean just an incredible difference. Virtually wiped out NEC surgery in this study. STEPHANIE: That’s amazing. DR. LEE: Yeah. I mean, we expected to see something really good. We didn’t expect‚…I guess you could say well we should have expected‚…but it was beyond our expectations, wildest dreams to show this kind of effect. Now a lot of people have looked at this data and said well that’s interesting, and maybe that’s real. But can you‚…you know, can you do it again? And the answer is yeah. We did it again because that first study that I just described, these were only babies who were getting‚… which are most babies‚… who were getting some breast milk from their mom. But there are a small cohort of‚… I don’t know quite what the percentage is in this country, but there’s a percentage of babies who don’t get any breast milk. There’s various reasons. Mom is sick. Mom’s not available. So on and so forth. So we also did a second study in which we only treated babies or fed babies who had to get their nutrition either one of two ways. Since breast milk wasn’t available, they got formula. Soon as they were able to get enteral feeding, in other words the tube feeding, they got formula. That’s one group. The 100% arm, same thing, except here, instead of getting mom’s milk, they got donor milk, and then they got the fortified. So it was a real stark comparison. Only human milk, only formula. And it was a very small study. It was only‚…that first study, I don’t know if I mentioned or made clear, that was a 200-baby study. Pretty big study. STEPHANIE: Yes. Um-hmm. DR LEE: This study was only 53 babies partly because it was very, very hard to find these babies. I mean, we would sign up a mom, they would agree to put their baby on, and then they realized gee, I really want to feed my baby. I really want to give them breast milk. And of course, that’s fine. That’s great. STEPHANIE: Right, right. DR LEE: But they can’t participate in the study. STEPHANIE: Right. DR LEE: So we had a hard time finding. But we eventually did it. Took us three years to find 53 babies, but we did, and you know what? We found the same significant difference, particularly in the surgical NEC. There were‚…in the control arm, there were 24 babies, and four of them had to go on to surgery for NEC. That’s one in six. So about 16%. In the Prolacta arm, in the 100% milk arm, nothing, no surgeries, nothing. One case in NEC overall, but no surgery. So that turned out to be wow. That’s the kicker. Two separate studies, two different classes of babies, breast milk, no breast milk, doesn’t matter. When you give a baby that’s born premature like this, this weight category, less than 1250 grams, and you feed them with only human milk, they’re going to do better. And it even turns out when you start putting all the data together an extra‚…I hate to call it a bonus‚…but an extra important key outcome was that mortality was reduced. Mortality fortunately in this baby population is pretty low. It’s about 8% overall because of the prematurity, of course. We reduced that to 2%. So a four-fold reduction in mortality. So now when you put it all together, what do you have? You have prevention of the major morbidity‚…that is NEC‚…of prematurity, and you prevent mortality. And how can you really ask for anything more from a nutritional approach to these really fragile infants. STEPHANIE: Right. Right. No, I totally agree. And as I said before, my personal opinion, you know, as the mother of a surgical NEC survivor, I would advocate for this if we had to do it again. It’s definitely phenomenal. DR. LEE: Yeah, it’s almost this kind of effect you would expect to see if this was a pharmaceutical breakthrough or some new wonder drug or some sort of biotechnologically-produced intervention. But all it is is feeding the babies properly. I mean it’s such a fundamentally sound, logical‚…this is what nature wanted these babies to get. STEPHANIE: Right, right. DR. LEE: Babies should get human milk, nothing else. STEPHANIE: Now you had mentioned previously the difference between donor milk and then your human milk nutritional products. Can you‚…when I hear conversations, I sort of always think it’s like comparing apples and oranges. You know, it’s almost two different things. So can you clarify what the difference is with donor milk and your products? DR. LEE: Well, again, I’m sorry to be maybe not entirely clear. We make a donor milk product. Essentially, all our products are made from donor milk, both the fortifier, of course, and we make a simple donor milk product that is formulated to have 20 calories per ounce which is what doctors and nurses and dieticians believe they’re giving the baby when they feed the baby either mom’s milk or milk from another person. So donor milk is essentially the equivalent of mom’s milk other than the fact, of course, it comes from another mom. But however‚…and in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics has said the best thing for a baby is mom’s milk. But if mom’s milk is not available, then donor milk is good. STEPHANIE: Right. DR. LEE: But the problem, of course, and one of the I guess you could say‚…I’m trying to think of the right word. Bad things that people associate with donor milk is well it comes from somebody else, and how do I know that person is the right person to provide milk for my baby? And that’s one of the key things that we had at the center of what we did at Prolacta from the beginning, which was to have a safety profile that was beyond reproach. I mean, we do things as far as testing the moms, testing the milk, that nobody else who ever handles breast milk does pure and simple. I’ll give you some examples. One of the things that I thought of very early on is because, again, remember I told you I came from the blood industry and they test blood and they test donors obviously every which way you can think of. But there’s one additional problem that donors who provide milk have in a sense that blood donors don’t. When you take blood from a donor, you’re seeing the person and it’s blood coming out of their vein and it’s coming right into a bag and you know whose it is. But a milk donor, she donates at home, pumps at home, puts it into containers, and then sends it wherever the donor, the milk bank, might be. In our case, it’s here at Prolacta. They’ll send it to us, and here’s the problem. How do we know it’s that person’s milk? STEPHANIE: Right. DR. LEE: How do we know it’s the person who we screened and did all the blood testing on to start with, that it’s her milk. So we do something very, very unique. We actually have the mom provide a DNA sample, they do a little cheek swab, they put a little stick essentially in there, and scrape off a little tissue from inside their cheek, send it to us so we have a profile. Now she sends us her milk, and when she sends us her milk, we can actually match it up. And now we know it’s that safe mom’s milk, all right? Now you might ask what’s the point? I mean what self-respecting individual is going to send somebody else’s milk to you? And the answer is nobody, for the most part I can say almost universally, will do that intentionally. But there are mistakes. I mean one of the things we’ve seen is moms that are lactating, sometimes there’s a couple of women in a neighborhood, and they’re all doing the same thing. And somebody’s freezer will become full with milk, and they’ll say to their neighbor, “Can I put my milk in your freezer?” And they said, “Sure, no problem.” And she’s got her own milk in there. And then they go to ship milk and lo and behold, there’s somebody else’s in there. We love that‚…we love the moms, but we have to be sure that every mom that donates is a mom that’s free of all of the nasty things that could be in blood because those things could be in milk as well like AIDS and hepatitis and syphilis and all those kinds of things that we should be concerned about. Even as an adult you certainly want to get blood from someone like that. You certainly don’t want to give that to this fragile premature infant. STEPHANIE: Right, right. DR. LEE: So going back to your original question about what we do versus donor milk, that’s all one in the same, I think you could safely say. Everything is based on the concept of donors and the milk that they provide and the safety of that milk supply being tested from any way you can think of so that every product that’s made from human milk is as safe as possible based on all of the different protocols that are used. And that includes other things besides DNA testing. It includes drug testing; it includes testing for whether the mom smokes because they may tell you they don’t smoke, but we’ve seen that instance where there’s byproducts of nicotine in the milk, and that’s not good for a baby. So we do that kind of testing. It’s just a laundry list of things to make that as safe as possible. STEPHANIE: Right. And I guess‚…I’m sorry‚…I guess to clarify my original question, I was speaking specifically about your fortifiers versus human milk. If you could explain a little bit the difference of that‚…I mean this was a very good‚…I can’t think of the word‚…a very good deviation, but yeah. When I was saying apples and oranges, I meant donor milk versus fortifier. DR. LEE: OK. I’m sorry. STEPHANIE: No, that’s OK. DR. LEE: The fortifier essentially‚…if you want to keep it very simple, the fortifier is just very concentrated milk. STEPHANIE: OK. DR. LEE: So essentially, what you do to make the fortifier is you take milk, you filter it to get rid of a lot of the fluid so that you concentrate the protein, you concentrate some of the other important nutrients in there. And that way the baby can get extra, like we say, protein, extra other nutrients in a very, very small volume. So for example, in our typical fortifier which we call Prolact +4, if you add that to mother’s milk in a ratio 80% mother’s milk to 20% fortifier, assuming mother’s milk is about 20 calories per ounce, you’re going to add 4 additional calories for that baby in that small volume which is a lot. So then we can actually do even more than that. We can do a +6, six calories, we can do +8 and even +10. That kind of product is for the babies that are the most fluid restricted. They can get 30 calories per ounce in the same volume that milk that originally was 20 calories per ounce was. So that’s really important for those babies, for example, that have heart defects who can’t take in a lot of fluid or babies for whatever reason are fluid restricted. STEPHANIE: OK. Thank you. DR. LEE: Sure. STEPHANIE: Yeah, that was‚… I think it’s important for parents and family members that might be in the NICU to be able to have a conversation with their doctor and fully understand what’s being given to their baby and be able to ask the right questions. So would there be anything else that you would want to add if you were talking to a parent who’s got a baby in the NICU right now for them to be able to advocate best practices for their baby? DR. LEE: I think that the simple issue for a parent under these circumstances is to ask the doctor based on all of the evidence that’s out there, clinical evidence,…and that’s how doctors make decisions. We talk about evidence-based medicine. This is based on the best evidence that the doctor is aware of, what’s the best way to feed my baby? And having said that, you know, the evidence that we’ve discussed here today is for those smallest of the small. For a larger baby, this is not necessarily‚…it’s not that it’s wrong. It may not be necessary, but when you’re dealing with the smallest babies and the ones that are struggling to survive and grow and thrive and get to where you want all babies to get to, to childhood and so on, then you have to ask the doctor the question what is the best way that our baby can get out of that NICU, that Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and get home and be with his or her parents. That’s really, I think, the fundamental question. And the doctors should be able to answer that question based on the evidence that exists for the diet that the baby should be fed. STEPHANIE: Right. Thank you. Yeah, I think this is a really great conversation for any parent in the NICU, especially those, like you said, the smallest that are at the highest risk for developing NEC and as you said, other issues as well. And it’s‚…it can only be a benefit in my opinion. DR. LEE: Absolutely. And just to add to that, they should also ask the question‚…because there are other sources of nutrition, and there are other places from which milk can be attained we know about, for instance, women sharing milk on the Internet, milk sharing sites. You’ve got to be extremely careful. You’ve got to ask the question not only what’s best for my baby from the point of view of effectiveness, but also what’s the safest for my baby. And you want to be sure that the source, where that milk is coming from, where those products are coming from, comes from a place where you can say everything possible based on modern technology has been done to protect that milk, protect the safety of that milk. And I think that’s really critical. I think there was a story the other day‚…I forget which show, where it came up in one newspaper or another‚…about‚…oh, I know what it was. It was an article that was published that basically looked at milk samples. They actually collected milk on one of these sharing sites, and they found a large percentage of them had nicotine in the milk, had other things, other bad things that you don’t want a baby to have in that milk. So you’ve really got to ask that question what’s the best? What’s the safest for my baby as well? STEPHANIE: Right. Right. And Prolacta has provided us some material, some reference materials for sharing. So I will say that we’re going to be posting those on our website and will have them in the show notes as well. And I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today. If there’s anything else at all that you would like to add, please feel free. DR. LEE: Well, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to let obviously the parents out there know that we’re here for one very, very simple reason. I mean I know it may sound kind of corny, but we said from the day we opened the doors at Prolacta that we’re here to save babies, and I think we’ve done our job in that regard. And we’ve proven that that’s the case. So I’m really‚…I’ve worked, as you heard me say, for 35 years doing clinical and medical research, and I’m very, very proud to say that this is, I think, my best story to tell out of all that long career. STEPHANIE: Right. And as I said, I was out in the facility, took the tour in November, and we were very impressed with your company. And like I said, if I had to do it all over again, I would certainly be asking these questions and in my opinion, I think this is a phenomenal company. And your rigor in testing and your facility are top notch. So thank you. LEE: Well, thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate that, and it means an awful lot to me and to obviously everybody that works at Prolacta. STEPHANIE: Right. So thank you for joining us. And hopefully we’ll talk again soon. LEE: Alright. Thanks so much, Steph. STEPHANIE: In closing, I’d like to share a few thoughts about today’s conversation with Dr. Lee. Recently, I’ve seen a lot written about the use of donor milk, human milk products, and the emerging breast milk industry. Often times, the opinions expressed about Prolacta are solely related to cost: the expensive of Prolacta’s products versus those coming from nonprofit donor milk banks. In my opinion, the cost of using Prolacta’s human milk-based human milk fortifier far outweighs the potential risks of not using it, and any discussion about cost needs to be framed within the context of total cost of care. As Dr. Lee mentioned, Prolacta’s human milk-based nutritional products are intended for extremely premature infants who weigh less than 1250 grams (2 pounds 12 ounces) at birth. My son Morgan weighed 2 pounds 5.5 ounces at birth; my son Shaymus weighed 2 pounds 7 ounces. Prolacta openly shares that the typical cost of using their human milk-based human milk fortifier for these babies is $10,000. That, however, is only a fraction of Morgan’s and Shaymus’ total cost of care. Each of whose exceeded $1 million. In actual numbers, the cost of an exclusive human milk diet using Prolacta’s human milk-based human milk fortifier would have been less than one percent of Morgan’s total cost of care, and less than one percent of Shaymus’ total cost of care. And while Morgan’s case shows that no current preventative strategy for NEC is 100% effective, research shows that access to, and the use of, an exclusive human milk diet significantly reduces the risk of NEC in the majority of extremely premature infants. Show your support for our smallest and most fragile babies, those who have the greatest risk for developing NEC. Show your support for continued research in NEC. And join our effort to raise awareness about, and funds for research in NEC by making a donation to Morgan’s Fund at morgansfund.org. If you’ve had a personal experience with NEC and would like to share your story, or have a question or topic that you’d like to hear addressed on our show, e-mail us at feedback@morgansfund.org. We’d love to hear from you! Additional resources: Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. What Is Necrotizing Enterocolitis? N.p.: Prolacta Bioscience, 2015. Print. Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. 100% Human Milk: The Best Nutrition. N.p.: Prolacta Bioscience, 2014. Print. Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. Nutrition for Premature Babies. N.p.: Prolacta Bioscience, 2014. Print. Prolacta Bioscience. Premature Babies: What to Expect. N.p.: Prolacta Bioscience, 2014. Print. Copyright © 2015 The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund, Inc. The opinions expressed in Speaking of NEC: Necrotizing Enterocolitis (the Podcast series) and by The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund are published for educational and informational purposes only, and are not intended as a diagnosis, treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. Please consult a local physician or other health care professional for your specific health care and/or medical needs or concerns. The Podcast series does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, medical treatments, pharmaceuticals, brand names, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and education of the viewing public, and the mention of any of the above on the Site does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by The Morgan Leary Vaughan Fund.