Question

The parents of an infant born at 27 weeks are having difficulty with feedings and are becoming frustrated. Their infant seems irritated a good part of the day and appears hungry, but when they are feeding him, the baby starts to nap and will not stay awake long enough to take adequate nourishment.

a) How would you address this problem?

b) What would be important for these parents to know?

c) Provide at least 4 suggestions to them on how to deal with this and how they will be able to assess whether this child is experiencing normal growth.

Answer 1

a). This problem can be addressed by, the parents must be informed about the importance of feeding the baby from time-to-time in order to achieve a normal growth pattern. As the baby is looking irritated and feeling hungry, the mother has to understand the baby's needs and offer to breastfeed immediately. If the baby is sleeping for more than 4-5 hours continuously, they must wake up the baby for feeding.

b). In this case, the patents must know that it is common for the pre-term babies to have longer sleep periods, and being irritated only will worsen the situation. The Parents have to understand the baby's response and meet the needs.

c).

• The nurse has to train the mother regarding breastfeeding and encourage the mother to do so.
• The mother must offer to breastfeed the baby before the baby becomes too hunger
• The baby's weight must be periodically monitored as suggested by the physician
• Maintaining hygiene is another important requirement for the pre-term babies because they are at high risk of developing infections.