Meeting nutritional needs of infants with gastroschisis

As a human milk–based, human milk fortifier, Surgifort^® is designed to meet the nutritional needs of full-term infants undergoing surgery for gastroschisis. An Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD) is achieved when 100% of protein, fat, and carbohydrate are derived from human milk. This diet includes human milk plus a human milk-based fortifier.

Surgifort Fortifier

When used as part of an EHMD† and added to mother’s own milk or to donor human milk, Surgifort fortifier provides an appropriate amount of calories, protein, and minerals* required for infants to grow and heal. Even when fluids are restricted, Surgifort fortifier is concentrated to ensure that nutritional needs can be met.

• Nutritionally incomplete, infants may require additional vitamins and iron added separately from the product
• Available frozen in 125 mL product containers containing 100 mL of concentrated product

* Sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and zinc.

Using Surgifort fortifier

Initiation of enteral feedings and advancement rates should be individualized based on each infant’s clinical status, weight, and age. Optimally, mother’s own milk (MOM) and/or donor human milk (DM) should provide a minimum of 20 kcal/fl oz.²

As Surgifort fortifier is designed to provide variable calories depending on the patient’s needs, when mixed with term human milk, and given at an appropriate volume, you can achieve nutrition that is within the recommendations established by the National Academy of Medicine. ³

What the research shows

Surgifort fortifier extends many of the proven benefits of Prolacta Bioscience^® 100% human milk-based nutritional products, originally designed for preterm infants, and now available as a specific formulation for term infants with gastroschisis, requiring corrective surgical procedures.

Term infants requiring surgery encounter challenges with feeding and growth⁴, such as:

• Achieving desired growth rates
• High metabolic needs/increased nutrient requirements
• Volume restriction
• Feeding intolerance
• NEC rates

While human milk is optimally beneficial nutrition for all infants, those requiring surgery are sometimes volume restricted while having increased nutritional needs. This results in the inability to consume adequate quantities of unfortified human milk to support their growth. A fortifier is needed to deliver the necessary amounts of nutrition to support optimal growth while maintaining preferred osmolality.¹

Nutrition needs for patients with congenital GI disorders

Though human milk is widely regarded as optimal nutrition for infants and further recommended for those under six months of age, it may not allow for adequate intake of caloric or protein standards for critically ill infants requiring surgery. Previously, fortification options for term infants were limited to infant formula or cow milk-based fortifiers designed for preterm infants. However, exposure to cow's milk protein in formula poses an increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants and is similarly concerning for infants with gastroschisis, who face an elevated risk of NEC as high as 5%.⁵

Prolacta’s dedication to improving outcomes using human milk-based nutrition inspired the research and development of Surgifort fortifier. Created specifically for critically ill infants, Surgifort fortifier aims to improve the outcomes of these small patient populations. Gastroschisis occurs in 1 of 2400 births in the US.⁶ Surgifort fortifier is the first and only 100% human milk-based fortifier intended for and approved by the FDA for term infants with gastroschisis who have undergone a corrective procedure.