Emerging Developments in Human Milk Fortification: Problem Solving for Clinical Practice
Live Symposium

Saturday, May 4, 2024

6:30–8:00 AM Eastern
Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto: SoCo Ballroom

This education is about:

• Overcoming challenges to optimal preterm infant nutrition
• Strategic use of donor milk
• Human milk fortification timing and clinical practice strategies
• Influence of feeding types on the preterm microbiome
• Emerging evidence on human milk bioactives

Why it matters:

Human milk is the optimal feeding for preterm infants due to its nutritional and bioactive factors, supporting not only growth and development, but also the immune and gastrointestinal systems. However, questions remain regarding the optimal approach to human milk feeding in the NICU, including selection among fortification types, fortification timing, supplementation strategies, and the role of bioactives. Amidst these uncertainties, practical solutions to common preterm infant feeding challenges are urgently needed.

• Profile

  Ariel A. Salas, MD, MSPH

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  Ariel A. Salas, MD, MSPH, is associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Infant Nutrition Service Center in the Division of Neonatology at Children’s of Alabama, a pediatric acute care hospital affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Salas received his medical degree from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia, completed residencies at Hospital del Niño Dr. Ovidio Aliaga Uría in Bolivia, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, followed by a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at UAB, where he also earned his master’s degree in public health.

  Dr. Salas designed the Infant Nutrition Service Center at UAB to monitor body composition, nutritional practices and the growth of term and preterm infants before and after hospital discharge. Research and quality improvement projects from the Division of Neonatology and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine are coordinated through the center and its multidisciplinary team of neonatologists, dietitians, speech pathologists, lactation consultants, neonatal fellows, and nurses, coordinates feeding practices across the hospital’s neonatal units. Prenatal counseling is provided for mothers whose babies are known to have complex medical conditions in order to provide them with valuable information and support prior to delivery.

  Dr. Salas’ research interests include enteral nutrition and feeding problems in preterm infants. The focus of his current work is the optimization of quantitative and qualitative outcomes of growth to reduce adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in early childhood, after the early establishment of full enteral feeding in extremely preterm infants. His long-term research goal is to conduct multicenter randomized clinical trials, particularly in the understudied area of nutrition in very preterm infants.

  Dr. Salas is the author of numerous published manuscripts. He is an ad hoc reviewer for the American Society for Nutrition and Pediatric Academic Societies as well as for several prestigious medical journals including the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Perinatal Medicine, Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, and European Journal of Pediatrics.

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  Ariel A. Salas, MD, MSPH

  Associate Professor
  UAB Department of Pediatrics
  Director, Neonatal Nutrition Program
  Director, Infant Nutrition Center
  Medical Director, Mother’s Milk Bank of Alabama
  Associate Medical Director, Continuing Care Nursery
  Division of Neonatology
  The University of Alabama
  Birmingham, Alabama

• Profile

  Brian K. Stansfield, MD

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  Brian K. Stansfield, MD, is vice chair for research and an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Augusta University in Georgia. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Georgia, followed by a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine and a postdoctoral pediatric research fellowship at Indiana University.

  Dr. Stansfield’s research on early life growth is robust and includes factors affecting human milk composition, human milk fortification, and the effects of prematurity and other neonatal factors on adult diseases. Dr. Stansfield has published more than 100 journal articles, abstracts and book chapters on these and other topics related to neonatology, pediatrics, and biochemistry.

  At Augusta University, Dr. Stansfield’s academic responsibilities encompass curriculum development in neonatal physiology, research study design, and professional development. He serves as a section editor on the editorial board of Pediatric Research, as a reviewer for the Journal of Perinatology and Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, and an ad hoc reviewer for numerous other medical journals.

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  Brian K. Stansfield, MD

  Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Research
  Department of Pediatrics
  Member, Vascular Biology Center
  Medical College of Georgia
  Augusta University
  Augusta, Georgia