Volume 29, Issue 3, June 2020, Pages 410–417
Ruthie Sophie Mnyanga1
1 School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (SMU), Guangzhou, China
Original language: English
Copyright © 2020 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Background: World Health Organization (WHO), reported that annually, about 20 million infants are born with low birth weight (LBW) either due to intrauterine growth restriction or preterm, world-wide. Preterm infants are babies born before reaching 37 complete weeks of gestation age. Preterm births accounts for about 15million worldwide and are the chief cause of neonatal mortality rate accounting to about 1 million babies dying annually. Studies revealed that, at least 80% of neonatal deaths happen in sub-Saharan region and south Asia. Malawi is having the vast figure of preterm births and highest neonatal mortality rate among high ranking ones. Objective: This article highlights some of the benefits of mothers own milk to preterm infants and the support lactating mothers needs from health professionals. Results: It was revealed that, preterm babies need extra care and optimizing nutrition is one of the championing strategies to support their health needs. WHO recommends breast milk especially from baby’s own mother as the optimal nutrition for preterm infants. Mothers own milk (MOM) is the best as compared to donor human milk or infant formula in these special infants. The health care professionals support on feeding these special babies is essential. Human milk’s composition is usually adapted to the unique needs of each particular infant and suitable for gestation age. Conclusion: Mothers own milk (MOM) is fundamental in risk reduction of neonatal morbidity and mortality due to its digestibility, bioavailability and suitability to preterm infants. MOM is the best for preterm infants as it is gentle on the baby’s digestive system yet provides more nourishment.
Author Keywords: Preterm infants, mothers own milk (MOM), Donor milk, infant formula, expressed breast milk, NICU, benefits, feeding support.
Ruthie Sophie Mnyanga1
1 School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (SMU), Guangzhou, China
Original language: English
Copyright © 2020 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: World Health Organization (WHO), reported that annually, about 20 million infants are born with low birth weight (LBW) either due to intrauterine growth restriction or preterm, world-wide. Preterm infants are babies born before reaching 37 complete weeks of gestation age. Preterm births accounts for about 15million worldwide and are the chief cause of neonatal mortality rate accounting to about 1 million babies dying annually. Studies revealed that, at least 80% of neonatal deaths happen in sub-Saharan region and south Asia. Malawi is having the vast figure of preterm births and highest neonatal mortality rate among high ranking ones. Objective: This article highlights some of the benefits of mothers own milk to preterm infants and the support lactating mothers needs from health professionals. Results: It was revealed that, preterm babies need extra care and optimizing nutrition is one of the championing strategies to support their health needs. WHO recommends breast milk especially from baby’s own mother as the optimal nutrition for preterm infants. Mothers own milk (MOM) is the best as compared to donor human milk or infant formula in these special infants. The health care professionals support on feeding these special babies is essential. Human milk’s composition is usually adapted to the unique needs of each particular infant and suitable for gestation age. Conclusion: Mothers own milk (MOM) is fundamental in risk reduction of neonatal morbidity and mortality due to its digestibility, bioavailability and suitability to preterm infants. MOM is the best for preterm infants as it is gentle on the baby’s digestive system yet provides more nourishment.
Author Keywords: Preterm infants, mothers own milk (MOM), Donor milk, infant formula, expressed breast milk, NICU, benefits, feeding support.
How to Cite this Article
Ruthie Sophie Mnyanga, “BENEFITS OF MOTHER’S OWN MILK TO PRETERM INFANTS AND HEALTH PROFESSIONAL’S SUPPORT IN NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU),” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 410–417, June 2020.
