As if there isn’t enough stress when you deliver a premature baby, you quickly have to face the question of how to feed your newborn. Breast milk is important for full-term babies, and it’s even more so for premature babes. It contains vital nutrients needed for the optimal growth and development of a baby–and a preemie baby really needs to grow! Here are answers to some common questions about breastfeeding a preemie.
If you are given the all clear to hold your preemie, you can certainly try breastfeeding him or her. Breastfeeding a preemie can be a little more challenging than feeding a full-term baby. A lactation specialist or neonatal nurse can show you how to adjust your hold for such a small baby.
When Can I Do It?
It’s important to let your health care team at the hospital know that you want to give breast milk to your preemie, or your baby may end up with formula. NICU’s have their own policies about when a preemie is ready to breastfeed. But on average, if your baby is less than 32 weeks old, you probably will not be able to feed him or her right away.
What If I Can’t Hold My Baby?
If you aren’t able to hold your baby, try to use the hospital’s electric breast pump to express milk from your breast. The expressed milk can be delivered to your baby via a tube in the stomach or by letting him or her sip from a tiny cup or spoon.
Is the Milk Different?
Milk made by moms of premature babies has more fat, secretory immunoglobulins, and digestive enzymes than does the milk of mothers who deliver full-term babies. The added fat helps preemies put on more weight, faster. The secretory immunoglobulins help protect babies from germs, illness, and disease. And the enzymes make breast milk easier for preemies to digest.
Is There Still Colostrum?
Mothers of premature babies first secret colostrum from their breasts, just like full-term mothers. This thick, yellowish substance is exactly what your baby needs to transition from life in the womb to life outside of it. All infants benefit from colostrum; however, according to the American Pregnancy Association, preterm infants who take colostrum from their mother’s breast have significantly better health outcomes than those who do not.
What If I Can’t Produce Milk?
If you can’t express any milk after birth, you should consider feeding your little one donor milk. There are two types of donor milk available in most NICUs. There is plain donor milk, which is regular breast milk from an accredited milk bank. Or, there’s human milk fortifier, a supplement that gets added to breast milk to increase calories and nutrient count.
Your premature baby needs lots of extra help to survive after an early birth. Feeding your baby human breast milk is one of the most helpful things you can do for him or her, as it’s the most nutritious food available for a newborn. So whether you breastfeed, pump, or use donor milk, try to get this powerful liquid to your preemie as early as possible. According to one scientific study, feeding your baby human breast milk may even get you out of the NICU sooner!
