As a parent of a premature baby, you need to be very cautious and proactive, because those babies will have unique developmental issues, and one of the complex issues is feeding them. As all we know, prematurity is nothing but babies born before completing a nine-month journey inside the womb, so their organs will be underdeveloped. Further, feeding premature babies is a sensitive and difficult task that needs specific strategies and help, this blog will drive you through those strategies.
What is preterm birth?
Preterm or premature babies are born too early, or at least three weeks before the due date. A complete pregnancy lasts till 40 weeks when babies are born at 37 weeks or earlier is known as preterm birth. Premature birth will impose numerous health issues on infants. This is because several organs like the brain, liver, and lungs are still growing. These newborns will find it difficult to stay warm or feed and risk delayed development later in life. In such cases, consider reaching out to the nicu doctor in Coimbatore to avoid further developmental issues that may arise in their later lives.
Luckily, updated technologies help premature babies to develop into healthy children by overcoming these early obstacles.
What are the challenges in feeding premature babies?
Feeding issues in infants arise due to several factors like:
– Immature digestive system: In premature babies, the underdeveloped gastrointestinal system may impact digestive health and absorption of nutrients.
– Oral feeding difficulties: Obviously, premature babies experience issues with swallowing, sucking, and synchronizing breaths when feeding, which makes it tough for parents to breastfeed or bottle-feed the premature babies.
– Nutritional needs: Comparatively, preemie feeding issues are more complex because their nutritional needs are higher for optimal growth and development.
– Gastrointestinal problems: Premature babies can easily develop gastrointestinal issues like necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) that may compromise their feeding ability.
What are the strategies to help feed premature babies?
Often doctors and parents of premature baby will try different strategies to feed those infants like:
– Breast milk: Premature babies will get the most natural and beneficial nutrients from breast milk, and cow’s milk is enriched with crucial nutrients and antibodies that may safeguard them from infections.
– Expressed breast milk: When premature babies are unable to suck the milk from the breast, mothers can try expressing their breast milk and feed to the babies with a bottle or feeding tube.
– Feeding tubes: Premature babies who cannot suck, swallow, and breathe need the help of feeding tubes, which directly deliver milk to the stomach. This helps the babies to get essential nutrients which helps for their growth and development.
– Oral care and support: Speech therapies and occupational therapies can help premature babies to enhance their oral feeding skills. Techniques like paced bottle feeding, where the infants can control the flow of milk.
– Gradually introducing the feeds: At times, doctors will suggest to start feeding in small amounts to allow the baby’s digestive system to adapt.
– Specialized formulas: Specialized preterm infant formulas are available for infants who cannot tolerate breast milk. These formulas supply the crucial nutritional needs of preterm babies.
– Fortification: Breast milk will be fortified with crucial nutrients to meet the specific requirements of premature babies. This should be done only with the help of healthcare providers.
What are the challenges faced by parents?
In premature birth not just babies, parents will also go through lots of struggles like feeding their premature babies. Simply, having a baby in the NICU can impose emotional strain on the parents, and they may face challenges like:
– Emotional stress: Feeding will become a major issue in premature babies, obviously parents will be highly worried about the baby’s illness.
– Breastfeeding challenges: Mothers find difficulty in breastfeeding their babies, this will emotionally exhaust them.
– Feeding tube concerns: When learning to manage tube feeding, parents will feel daunting, but it is significant for their babies.
– Balancing work and NICU: This will be very difficult for parents because they will be stuck between offering special care for their newborn at the NICU and working and looking after their families.
– Financial strain: When babies are born prematurely, parents need to spend more time in the hospitals, because those babies need specialized care and this may place a financial burden on families.
Some strategies for a smooth transition from home:
Usually, when those premature babies grow their health improves, and the goal is to change premature babies to go home from the NICU. This step may be tough but much needed for the baby’s development, get this crucial premature baby treatment in Coimbatore to potentially safeguard your baby’s health. Further, let’s see some helping strategies for parents to overcome these crucial times:
- Breastfeeding support: Reach out to the lactation consultant or breastfeeding specialists to get their help in breastfeeding efforts.
- Follow-up care: Stick to follow-up appointments with doctors to keep your baby’s growth and development in check.
- Preparation: Get to know about feeding techniques and equipment you need, like breast pumps or specialized formulas.
- Emotional support: Get help from your family and friends, and also try to join support groups for premature baby’s parents.
Final thoughts:
In conclusion, we can say that premature babies’ underdeveloped digestive systems and difficulty in oral feeding make feeding them complicated. Further, with the help of doctors, parental support, and following specialized feeding techniques, premature babies can be offered the nourishment crucial for good growth and development.
