“We are very happy with this development,” said Kimberley Wagemans-Bonouvrié, general pediatrician at MMC’s NICU. “Own breast milk is the first choice for all babies. Breast milk is especially important for premature babies (premature babies). If a mother gives birth too early, an intensive period of long-term expression of breast milk starts. Sometimes it happens that mothers are still too ill after giving birth to produce breast milk. If no or insufficient own breast milk is available, donor milk is Dutch Breastmilk Bank considered the best alternative. This is the international recommendation of the World Health Organization and it is being applied to many NICUs worldwide.”
Own breast milk is first choice
Babies who are born prematurely and receive breast milk from their own mother or donor milk develop better than children who are formula fed, research shows. “Premature babies who receive breast milk are less prone to infections of the blood and gut (necrotiserende enterocolitis; NEC) than the preterm infants who receive formula,” says Wagemans-Bonouvrié. Donated milk is only given if there is (temporarily) no or insufficient breast milk available. However, during the first 12 hours after birth, we first have to wait and see whether the own breast milk production starts and is sufficient (only a very small amount can be sufficient).
First peripheral hospital with donor milk
Some NICUs of academic hospitals already work with donor milk in the Netherlands. MMC is the first peripheral hospital with a NICU in the Netherlands to start this now. “Breast milk is the best milk for premature babies. With this we do everything we can to reduce the complications of preterm birth and increase the success rates of survival,” says Wagemans-Bonouvrié.
By: National Care Guide
Image: MMC / Photographer: DCI Media
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