Nutrient supplement can boost breastfed premature babies’ growth

A supplement given to breastfed premature babies after they leave hospital can prevent weight loss and help boost growth, according to results of a trial.

Breast milk alone does not always meet the dietary needs ofvulnerable babies, born before 37 weeks, with about half failing to growproperly.

   

According to Luise Marino, clinical academic paediatricdietician at Southampton Children’s Hospital, all babies lose about 10 per centweight soon after birth, through water loss, the BBC reported.

“They don’t have as much fat, minerals or iron, so they needextra nutrients,” she said.

The study, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood,showed eight weeks of extra nutrients led to improvements in a newborns’weight, head growth and length a year later.

Currently, in the UK, breastfed premature babies are given asupplement packed with proteins and minerals, such as calcium, during theirstay at neonatal units, Marino said.

The supplements, also known as breast milk fortifier, aremixed with breast milk and given to babies through feeding tubes.

The supplements are stopped, once premature babies are senthome, after they have reached an acceptable weight.

As doctors cannot prescribe them any additional nutrientsthese babies need are often obtained from formula milk, Marino noted.

For the study, the team looked at effects of giving thesupplements to 32 mothers and their babies for eight weeks.

The average weight of babies in the study was 1.3kg atbirth, and most were born at about 30 weeks of pregnancy. When they went home,the babies weighed 2.5kg on average.

The supplement sachets can be added to a small amount ofexpressed breast milk and given to babies by cup or syringe before eachbreastfeed, the report suggested.

However, larger studies are needed to confirm the findings.

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

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