Question

15/ 365 Preterm baby

BW: 2100g

GA: 33rd week

Calculate all requirements and prepare the exchange list, and the diet list.

Answer 1

the breast milk is considered an “essential drug” in particular for VLBW. It is now proven that an incorrect nutrition during the first weeks of life results in significant negative consequences in the short and long terms.The breast milk has the status of a gold standard food and it is recommended by the scientific community (AAP, ESPGHAN) and not only (WHO/ UNICEF) as the first choice for premature infants.This is linked to the numerous benefits of feeding with breast milk, starting from the reduced risk of NEC, sepsis, other comorbidities.better enteral tolerance with a faster achievement of the full diet as well as positive effects on neurocognitive and behavioral development, long-term visual acuity, and a reduction of the risk of metabolic and degenerative diseases during the adolescence and the adulthood.All this is attributable to the countless biocomponents present in the breast milk. There are benefits linked to the feeding with donated milk, even if they are less specified and demonstrated, particularly in reducing the NEC.when the mother’s milk is not available, the alternative is the human milk donated to the milk banks