Bottle To Breastfeeding After Nicu

Baby s are often fed via bottle or other methods in the nicu making latching to the breast difficult.

Bottle to breastfeeding after nicu.

Babies are in the nicu for a reason. Breastfeeding is important to preterm infants as it seems to provide even more pronouced health benefits than to infants born at term age even though there are significant variations in preterm breastfeeding rates between countries and neonatal intensive care units nicus within coutries preterm infants are not breastfed to the same extent as term infants. I fully believe i would not have been as successful in my breastfeeding journey without her. In addition to prematurity they often have medical problems and may be placed in the nicu neonatal intensive care unit until they are stable enough to feed successfully via bottle or breast.

Whether they are full term and spend a few days or preemies and spend weeks to months it is hard. Getting the hang of breastfeeding after a nicu stay can take some time and practice. Being premature or born with health issues can greatly affect a baby s ability to breastfeed efficiently. Feed your baby breast milk formula or both after she leaves the nicu.

Premature babies are often too immature to feed at the breast immediately after birth. When bottle feeding is more similar to breastfeeding it can help a baby transition between the two ways of feeding more easily. It is so incredibly important in this journey to ask for help. Learn about breastfeeding support how to store breast milk and how to make bottle feeding safe.

Fragile vulnerable medically compromised infants generally cannot go directly to their mothers breast and feed effectively after birth. My son after a few tries was able to latch on and breastfeed and i was able to breastfeed him for 4 months before i had to go and have surgery. Give yourself some grace. Some mothers hide the bottle in a cloth and keep baby next to a naked breast during their feed to help them.

Most nicu babies can learn to breastfeed. The shape of the teat the flow rate and the way you offer milk in a bottle can help or hinder breastfeeding. Just make sure the nurses know and your babies nicu doctor know that you want to breastfeed him and have them work with you when he is ready for that. When babies are fed bottles in the nicu often times they prefer not to breastfeed when they are discharged home as the flow is much slower and the artificial nipple has already been imprinted in.