Associated morbidities to congenital diaphragmatic hernia and a relationship to human milk.

The majority of what is known in the recent literature regarding human milk studies in the neonatal intensive care setting is specific to term and/or preterm infants (including very-low-birth-weight preterm infants). However, there is a lack of human milk and breastfeeding literature concerning infants with congenital anomalies, specifically infants diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). By applying human milk research conducted among other populations of infants, this article highlights how human milk may have a significant impact on infants with CDH. Recent human milk studies are reviewed and then applied to the CDH population in regard to respiratory and gastrointestinal morbidities, as well as infection and length of stay. In addition, clinical implications of these relationships are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented.