Maryanne Perrin

BRIEF BIO

Globally, 15 million infants are born prematurely each year, greatly increasing their risk of morbidity and mortality. Growing evidence supports the use of donor human milk with preterm infants to improve health outcomes and lower health care costs when mother’s own milk is unavailable. Increasing access to safe donor milk is an important public health initiative supported by the US Surgeon General, the World Health Organization, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Perrin’s early research evaluated human milk composition in the second year postpartum to help inform evidence-based guidelines regarding exclusion criteria for donating to a milk bank. In addition, she has used qualitative and mixed-methods research techniques to study the emergence of online peer-to-peer milk sharing communities and the experiences, knowledge, and attitudes of women who have shared their milk with a peer.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Developing evidence-based guidance to support the effective screening, handling, processing, distribution and use of expressed human milk.

CURRENT PROJECTS

• The composition of donor human milk globally and the impact of milk bank pooling practices
• Adequacy of commercial fortifiers at meeting preterm infant nutritional needs
• Effects of storage and milk bank processing techniques on the integrity of expressed human milk

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Perrin MT, Friend LL, Sisk PM. Fortified donor human milk frequently does not meet sodium recommendations for the preterm infant. [J Pediatr 2022]
• Gutierrez dos Santos B, Perrin MT. What is known about human milk bank donors around the world: A systematic scoping review. [Public Health Nutr 2021]
• McCune SM, Perrin MT. Donor human milk use in populations other than the preterm infant: A systematic scoping review. [Breastfeed Med 2021]
• Friend LL, Gutierrez dos Santos B, El-Khouri K, Perrin MT. Method for removing thawed human milk from a plastic storage bag impacts fat retention. [J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2020]
• Perrin MT, Hamilton Spence E, Belfort MB, Parker MG, Bode L. A Comparison of macronutrient-based methods for determining energy values in human milk. [J Perinatol 2020]
• Friend LL, Perrin MT. Fat and protein variability in donor human milk and associations with milk banking processes. [Breastfeed Med 2020]
• Perrin MT, Belfort MB, Hagadorn JI, McGrath JM, Taylor SN, Tosi LM, Brownell EA. The nutritional composition and energy content of donor human milk: A systematic review. [Adv Nutr 2020]
• Perrin MT, Festival J, Starks S, Mondeaux L, Brownell EA, Vickers A. Accuracy and reliability of infrared analyzers for measuring human milk macronutrients in a milk bank setting. [Curr Dev Nutr 2019]
• Perrin MT, Pawlak R, Allen LH, Hampel D. Total water-soluble choline concentration does not differ in milk from vegan, vegetarian, and non-vegetarian lactating women. [J Nutr 2019]
• Schlotterer H, Parvez B, Perrin MT. The effects of fortification and refrigerated storage on bioactive proteins in Holder-pasteurized donor human milk. [J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2019]
• Palmquist AEL, Perrin MT, Cassar-Uhl D, Gribble KD, Bond AB, Cassidy T. Current trends in research on human milk exchange for infant feeding. [J Hum Lact 2019]
• John A, Ruichen S, Maillart L, Schaefer A, Hamilton Spence E, Perrin MT. Macronutrient variability in human milk from donors to a milk bank: Implications for feeding preterm infants. [PLOS ONE 2019]
• Schlotterer H, Perrin MT. The effects of refrigerated and frozen storage on Holder pasteurized donor human milk: A systematic review. [Breastfeed Med July 2018]
• Pawlak R, Shahab-Ferdows S, Hampel D, Allen LH, Perrin MT. Vitamin B12 content in breast milk of vegan, vegetarian, and non-vegetarian lactating women in the United States. [Am J Clin Nutr 2018]
• Perrin MT. Donor human milk and fortifier use in United States level 2, 3, and 4 neonatal care hospitals. [J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2017]
• Perrin MT, Fogleman AD, Newburg DS, Allen JC. A longitudinal study of human milk composition in the second year postpartum: Implications for donor milk banking [Maternal Child Nutr 2016]
• Perrin MT, Goodell LS, Allen JC, Fogleman AD. A mixed-methods observational study of human milk sharing communities on Facebook [Breastfeed Med 2014]