In 1963, President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy welcomed their third child, five weeks before his due date. Barely two days later, their baby’s heart stopped. “To show you how far we’ve come, today if a woman gives birth 16 weeks early, there’s a chance the NICU can take care of that baby,” says Maryanne Perrin, assistant professor in UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences.
What NICUs feed preemies during this critical window has immediate health implications, adds Perrin, whose research on infant nutrition guides hospitals’ practices. With an industrial engineering degree, a doctorate in nutrition, and an MBA, she is one of the first researchers to study the comprehensive process of milk banking.
Best-case scenario, Perrin says, a baby drinks its mother’s milk. But that’s not always possible, especially for preemies, because the mother’s mammary glands don’t fully develop until the end of pregnancy.
“That’s where donor milk comes in,” she says.