Breast milk for premature babies It's fundamental. If our child was born before week 37, he will be considered premature regardless of his birth weight, and will need special care. One of those cares is to feed it with breast milk.
In the neonatal units they would have to give all the information and support to the mothers, making a priority effort so that the woman could breastfeed, preferably directly to stimulate production and suction, or practicing the kangaroo method even if feeding It will be with milk extracted.
Breast milk adapts to the needs of the baby, to the point that it has been confirmed that the milk produced by the mother of a premature baby is different in some ways from the milk of another woman. For the baby, feeding with his mother's milk, preferably directly and, if this is not possible, by extraction and supplementation with a syringe or probe, makes a big difference.
Colostrum provides the child with very important substances to help him adapt to the new world he has reached before: IgA immunoglobulin, lysozyme, lactoferrin, macrophages, lymphocytes, neutrophils, proteins and sodium. The nutritional composition is also special. It has more protein, sodium, chlorine and iron content than a woman's milk with full term delivery.
In addition, the absorption capacity of long-chain fatty acids in breast milk is 90% or more, while those in artificial milk are only 65%, which is a huge advantage for the development of your nervous system , his brain therefore, in addition to his retina.
Considering, therefore, that the breastmilk It will offer additional protection against one of the most common problems in premature babies, necrotizing enterocolitis, this would already be a clear advantage for natural nutrition. And not only that, the milk of the mother of a premature child will contain more defenses to fight infections.
At first the amount of milk is going to be small, first, because of the concern and above all, because the needs in the quantity of a baby of these characteristics are naturally small. The professionals would have to reassure the woman, help her learn to use the extractors and maximize the stay of mother and child together.
Breast milk for premature babies It is a vital issue, a priority health treatment, and doing everything possible for the child to receive it is one of the main guidelines to achieve his recovery.
