Breast milk: An important source of nutrients for premature babies

It can be said that nutrition is an important and decisive factor that makes a huge difference to the survival and long-term health of premature and underweight babies. And the most essential source of nutrition is: Breast milk

1 / Benefits of breast milk for premature babies

Nutrition experts recommend that breast milk is the perfect and best nutrition for both term babies and premature babies because breastmilk brings full nutrients and resistance to your baby's immature body. .

Premature babies should be breastfed from the beginning, breastmilk is easy to digest and absorb, when breastfed, babies will have less problems such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, milk allergy ... also provides children with immune factors to fight infections ...

Breast milk is easy to digest and absorb, so it's good for preterm babies.

Short-term and long-term benefits of breastfeeding a preterm infant:

- Many perfect nutrients

- Reduce the incidence of infections

- Reduce mortality due to necrotizing enterocolitis

- Easy to digest, absorb, cause less constipation.

- Brain development

- Strengthening the deep bond between mother and child, the child receives warmth from the mother, feels the mother's warm affection, helps the child develop good physiology.

2 / Diet for preterm infants 

Preterm babies are more disadvantaged than full term babies because babies will not have the opportunity to enjoy the nutrients in the last trimester of pregnancy (the period that helps babies grow fastest) so they will experience difficulty in eating. Therefore, premature babies also need a special diet compared to normal babies.

Poor nutrition for premature babies will lead to weight gain and slow development. Therefore, it is necessary for children to eat continuously to provide enough nutrients. About 1.5 - 2 hours need to feed the baby once, until the baby grows more, this gap gradually increases.

Children 1.5 kg 1.5 hours away.

- Children 2kg every 2 hours.

Children 3kg every 3 hours.

How to calculate the amount of milk for the baby to eat daily:

- The first day after birth: 60-70 ml per 1 kg of birth weight, then increase 10 ml per day for 1 kg of weight if the baby can tolerate milk well (note only increase up to 200ml, no more increase)

For example: If a baby is born 1500g, the first day after birth we give 70 x 1.5kg = 120ml, 120ml divided by 10-12 meals (ie feed every 2 hours) = 8 - 10ml / meal.

- When a child is 8 days old, he / she will have an increase of 70ml / kg of milk: (70ml + 70ml on the first day = 140ml), we calculate the following formula:

If feeding every 2 hours: (140ml x 1.5kg) / 10 - 12 meals = 17-20 ml / meal

3 / Some issues you need to pay attention to:

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition not only for premature babies. However, breastfeeding for these babies is not easy because the baby's mouth muscles are very weak, not strong enough to pump. This requires the mother to be patient, not discouraged. Sometimes babies stop feeding, which doesn't mean they don't want to feed any more or are full - that is why they don't have the energy to suck. You need to understand that in order to have the appropriate comfort and handling measures

- Mothers need to closely monitor the amount of breast milk they drink or drink each time depending on gestational age and weight. Breastfed babies are breastfed enough when their tummy is full after each feeding, urinate at least 6-10 times per day, clear urine, evenly gain weight ...

- Babies born prematurely, under weight cannot suck strongly on their own to stimulate milk production, but need breast milk more than normal babies. Therefore, mothers need special help in creating and maintaining breast milk . Mother try to rest as much as possible, eat a lot, drink a lot, be comfortable spirit will help milk to produce more. Always believe that you have enough milk for your baby, when the baby does not suckle, the mother should express the milk for the baby to drink.

- Mother must express at least 8 times a day (every 3 hours, one meal) will help milk be produced continuously. If the mother only expresses 1-2 times a day, the breast milk will gradually dry up and lose milk. When the baby can suckle, try to help the baby learn to suck on the breast as soon as possible, to stimulate the milk-making reflex.

"Pocket" all the information you need to know about premature babies Born before their due date, premature babies are often not fully prepared for birth, at higher risk of disease. Even the risk of death is also higher than normal. What do you have to do to take care of your baby best, and also somewhat less nervous?

- In cases where mothers do not have enough milk to breastfeed their babies, they should feed their babies with formula milk for preterm babies, the amount of milk should only cover about 1/3 of their daily needs and gradually decrease until the mother has enough milk. For example, children who eat 150ml of milk should only give 50ml of formula).

- In order to be more effective in caring and eating for premature and low birth weight babies, mothers should consult a nutritionist and follow the instructions, because babies need to be maintained with high nutrition. Energy until being at least 9 months old and can last up to 12 months.

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