Breastfeeding a preemie

Learn about: Breastfeeding a preemie from Amanda Knickerbocker,...
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Breastfeeding a preemie

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Some of the things that you'll do when you're breastfeeding your premature child is first, you need to make sure that it's medically safe to breastfeed a child. Sometimes these premature children have aspiration problems where the things that they swallow in their mouth go into their lungs instead of into their stomach. And for that reason a lot of times premature children are not able to eat by mouth. In that case you will pump and then that food will be fed through a tube into your child. But pumping has its own set of problems. You have to do it every three hours typically to keep up your supply. Often these premature children, you're not able to hold them initially. For me, I wasn't able to hold Charlotte until she was a little over a month old. And so you have to establish your milk supply in between that time, even when you're not able to hold or touch your child. So working with a lactation consultant and making sure that you have a good hospital-grade pump is extremely important. Most insurances will cover the rental cost of a hospital-grade pump for micro-preemie mothers. So you should be talking to the social worker and your insurance about covering that cost for you.

Learn about: Breastfeeding a preemie from Amanda Knickerbocker,...

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Amanda Knickerbocker

Blogger & Mom

Amanda Knickerbocker is the wife of a pediatrician, and the mother of two children aged three and twenty months. When her daughter was born at 1.2 Pounds, 11 inches, spending 200 days in the NICU, Amanda began blogging about her family’s experience. She continues to offer support and community to parents of preemies at Understanding Prematurity. 

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