The most ideal food that can provide nutritional needs for your baby is breastmilk. Breastmilk also protects your baby from illnesses and infections.
Premature babies needs more protein for their growth compared to full-term babies. You will also have more of an enzyme called lysozyme that attacks certain bacteria and also protects your baby from any kind of infection. The milk that you will produce consists more fat and less lactose mainly because lactose is hard to digest for premature babies.
If you have a full term baby, he is able to suckle breastmilk from you but if you have a premature baby, it will take weeks before he can fully suckle your breastmilk. Your milk is slightly different from a full-term milk to meet …show more content…
your baby will only suckle a very small amout of milk from you. Your premature baby will take some time before he gets the hang of breastfeeding.
What are the supplements and alternatives of breastmilk for premature babies?
There are times that your breastmilk doesn’t provide all the nutrients that your premature baby needs. Your breastmilk needs extra protein, phosphurus, calories, or calcium for his bone growth. You might also add thickeners that will stop his reflux.
Donor milk. If you are unable to breastfeed or express your breastmilk, give your baby a donated breastmilk through the milk bank of the hospital where you gave birth. Before the donated breastmilk is given to your baby, it was pasteurized. This process reduces some of the nutrients and properties of the milk that protects against infection but still has enough nutrients for your premature baby.
Formula milk. There are special formula milk for premature babies. Giving your premature baby a formula milk doesn’y mean that you have to stop expressing or breastfeeding your baby. Any amount of breastmilk has nuttrients that your premature baby badly