Effect of antenatal and postnatal individualized counseling of mothers on exclusive human milk feeding in preterm infants during hospital stay and at discharge: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction Exclusive human milk feeding improves outcome in preterm infants however implementation is inadequate. Methods This randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary care hospital (6 months) to assess the effect of antenatal and postnatal individualized counseling on exclusive human milk feeding in preterm infants. In intervention counseling regarding benefits of exclusive human-milk feeding and demonstration of expression of milk. Outcomes were proportion of infants on exclusive human-milk feeding,type of milk and method of feeding during hospital stay and at discharge. Results At discharge, (97%) were on exclusive human-milk in intervention group as compared to (6%) in control group (p Conclusion Individualized counseling improves exclusive human-milk feeding in preterm infants.