“Breast is Best”: does this also apply to neonatal neuroprotection?

It is increasingly recognised that breast milk is a supply of stem cells and neurotrophic factors and may have a role in neuroprotection. In this issue of Paediatric Research, Tarjanyi and colleagues report on the F-NEO-BRIGHT study, where they describe the intranasal administration of breastmilk to infants with moderate/severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE).1 Ten term babies were administered 0.4 ml fresh breastmilk to each nostril twice daily (1.6 ml/day) from <48 hours after birth to day 28. Following training, parents administered treatments during hospital admission and after discharge home. The intervention was feasible, well-tolerated and widely accepted by staff and families.