Nursing a Premature Baby

The changes in the feeding protocols suppose another of the remarkable facts in the NBICU, thanks to them priority is given to feeding with maternal milk and they modify the nutritional rules that should be followed with these children. The postnatal growth of a premature baby has a pattern of gold, which is to try to achieve some pondered earnings similar to those that the baby would have with maternal breast milk; the experience has demonstrated that this can be very difficult and it has been achieved very few times in extremely premature babies. 

For this reason after the necessary feeding of IV during the first days, when the baby cannot eat, human milk is given to the baby as soon as possible, usually the milk of the own mother. The neonatal units actually have protocols for the use of the maternal milk that can even be administered through a probe when the baby is not able to suck, making sure it is completely sterile. 

When this milk is extracted and stored, it is often times enriched with proteins and other products to maintain the fetal rhythm of growth. As soon as the baby's state allows it, the baby is then offered the direct breast. When the quantities are not enough, the baby is provided with milk that exists in the market and that are prepared especially for children that have very low weight.

All the technological and scientific advances that have been mentioned in the NBICU, is accompanied of a deep change in the interpretation of the concept of the mother and baby relationship that should exist in the neonatal unit.

A consequence of it has been to allow the baby’s family to participate actively in the recovery of the little fellow, first understanding the situation and the professional performance, and later on becoming involved in the decisions that are taken with regards to the therapeutic performance.

It has been proven that maintaining the units of intensive care closed to the families, not only didn’t report any additional advantages in the aspect of infection risk, but that it could rather create psychological conflicts in the parents and deprive the baby of his or her stimulation capacity. The application of strict norms of hygiene for washing hands and the rationalization of the number of people that have access to the unit has allowed an orientation change, with the liberalization of the entrance in the NBICU, allowing in this way, at the same time, more familiarity in the treatment with the doctors and nurses.