![]() Your doctors can arrange to have your expressed milk fed to your baby or for you to breastfeed your infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Notify your baby’s pediatrician and neonatologist, if one is caring for your baby, of your desire to breastfeed and to provide your expressed breast milk for your baby. Your first step in providing your baby with breast milk is to enlist the support of the medical personnel who will care for your infant at the hospital. Even if your baby cannot breastfeed yet, expressing breast milk from the beginning will ensure that your milk supply is maintained until your baby is able to nurse. The milk you produce in the first few days contains high concentrations of antibodies to help your baby fight infection. Premature babies who are breastfed are less likely to develop intestinal infections than are babies who are formula-fed. Human milk is easier for her to digest than formula and avoids exposing her immature intestinal lining to the cow’s milk proteins found in premature infant formula. The fat in human milk helps to enhance the development of the baby’s brain and neurologic tissues, which is especially important for premature infants. The premature milk is higher in protein and minerals, such as salt, and contains different types of fat that she can more easily digest and absorb. ![]() Mothers of premature babies produce breast milk that is slightly different in composition, at least for the first several weeks, and this difference is designed to meet your baby’s particular needs. No matter how your breast milk is delivered to her, it provides the best nourishment possible at a time when such an advantage makes a big difference. When she is stable, she can have the milk fed to her by a tube or by letting her sip the milk from a tiny cup or bottle. Even if your baby is unable to breastfeed at first, you can begin expressing your milk immediately after giving birth. Providing breast milk for a premature or seriously ill newborn may be a challenge, but it is usually possible and it is certainly an effective way to enhance your baby’s health, growth, and development.
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