Caring for preemies requires meticulous, super-handy care due to their small and delicate bodies.
If you’re a mother to one, you must be eagerly waiting for your little bundle of joy to grow.
One way to ensure that your underweight baby is nourished and will start to gain that adorable chubbiness is to breastfeed or provide breast milk.
Nursing a preemie can be difficult due to their small size. They may not be able to suckle your breast if you are born too early, either.
However, don’t let that stop you from giving them the best nutrition possible.
You can try to express your milk and give it to your baby via a feeding tube or tiny bottle. The hospital would typically provide these to you, specifically for preemie babies.
There’s no denying that breast milk is known for the amazing benefits it provides to growing babies.
But did you know your breast milk will be extra special for preemies?
Yes! It is an efficient way to improve your little one’s health, growth, and development.
Premature babies have immature digestive systems, and breastmilk is ideal for their tiny bellies.
Other benefits of breastfeeding preemies include the following:
Suited to Your Premature Baby’s Nutritional Requirements
According to the Raising Children Network (Australia), if you give birth prematurely, your milk will be slightly different from milk at term.
Since preemies require more proteins for growth than term babies do, your colostrum will contain more protein in comparison.
Lysozyme, an enzyme that combats specific bacteria, will be present in greater amounts in your breastmilk.
Your baby will be protected from infections thanks to lysozyme. Your breastmilk will also be higher in fat and lower in lactose.
This is because lactose is hard for premature babies to digest.
Provide Skin-to-Skin Contact with Your Premature Baby
If your baby is healthy and ready to be held, spend time cradling your child against your skin.
This is also known as ‘kangaroo care’.
This method can also make breastfeeding easier and increase milk supply.
The best part is that babies who receive kangaroo care from their mothers tend to breastfeed better, sleep better, and healthily gain weight.
Moreover, a world-first study found that holding a premature baby in skin-to-skin contact improves the baby’s heart and brain functions. This study provides scientific evidence and rationale for why kangaroo care improves the infant’s heart rhythm and neurodevelopment.
Immunological Benefits in Fighting Infection
Some of the most significant advantages of breastfeeding a premature baby include strengthening the immune system.
This is because most preemies are at risk for infections that can occasionally be very serious.
Infants can avoid minor to severe infections thanks to the variety of disease-fighting agents found in breastmilk. These components are more prevalent in preterm milk.
In addition, infants who receive breastmilk have a greatly reduced risk of developing diarrhoea and are much less likely to develop a serious digestive disease.
There are also fewer GI, respiratory, ear, and urinary infections in babies who are fully or nearly fully breastfed.
It also applies to those who receive expressed breastmilk after they leave the hospital.
Preemies Can Easily Digest Breast Milk
Your breast milk is the easiest food for your baby to digest, as it was designed by nature for babies.
Compared to digesting formula, your baby can break down your milk more fully and with less energy.
Therefore, the nutrients, anti-infection agents, and other components in your milk are more readily available to fuel your baby’s body and support growth and development.
Breastfeeding Provides Cognitive Benefits
Studies have shown that breastfeeding enhances the mother-infant bond and fosters cognitive development in infants. The analysis indicated that infants had better cognitive development (MDI score) when they were breastfed ≥ 9 months from years 1–3 after birth.
This suggests that babies who receive breast milk early in life have better cognitive functioning as toddlers.
Besides that, infants who were breastfed when they were born prematurely still have higher IQ scores than those who weren’t. This extends even to when they are 7 1/2 to 8 years old.
Mum Benefits from Breastfeeding Too
You are now aware that breast milk provides a variety of health benefits to your premature baby.
But you should also know that breastfeeding has advantages for you, too. Mummies may achieve their pre-pregnancy weight sooner thanks to breastfeeding!
Breastfeeding’s additional caloric burn and the hormones it produces also hasten the uterus’ return to its previous size.
Furthermore, according to the American Diabetes Association, breastfeeding can reduce a mother’s risk of some chronic diseases.
These include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, and arthritis.
Nonetheless, whether you choose to breastfeed or not is a personal decision, and only you can determine what is best for you and your little one.
You’ve got this, mummies!
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