Mothers' milk needed for region's premature babies

LA JOLLA - A drive to collect badly needed mothers' milk donations is scheduled at UC San Diego today.

UCSD Health and the San Jose Mothers' Milk Bank will collect human milk that can be used in the care of premature babies. According to UCSD Health, the usual recipients of banked human milk are infants with very low birth weight -- less than 3.3 pounds -- or infants with an intestinal injury.

Research shows that breast milk empties from the stomach faster, matures the intestines and results in less feeding problems than formula. Infants who are breastfed have less necrotizing enterocolitis an...