- All full-term or premature babies should be fed exclusively with breast milk in the first 6 months of life.
- Since the ability to sit with support, swallow semi-solid foods, and hold a spoon by hand and bring it to the mouth may be delayed in premature babies. This period may even shift a little later when their calendar age is 6 months.
- Contrary to popular belief or belief, supplementary foods are not more nutritious than milk.
- The motor and cognitive development of babies are suitable for taking solid food only around 6 months.
- Breastfed babies are accustomed to the taste and smell of different foods, as the taste and smell of whatever their mother eats is transferred to their milk, and postponing the introduction of complementary foods until the 6th month does not cause difficulty in accepting complementary foods.
- It is wrong to start complementary foods early with the idea that it will be easier for babies who cannot grow sufficiently in their first months, who cannot sit even with support, who cannot hold a spoon in their hands, or who cannot put a spoon to their mouth, or who can switch to complementary foods more easily.
- Every food is an allergen, and allergy triggering occurs frequently due to early supplementary foods.
- In term babies and preterm babies who can actively suckle for at least 10-15 minutes and can breastfeed at least one breast of their mother. In premature babies who are strong enough to suckle and empty it at one meal, what is meant by "breastfeeding" is getting breast milk by "suckling" from the breast, that is, breastfeeding.
- Babies weighing less than 2-2.5 kg and less than 37 corrected weeks are generally unable to feed themselves adequately by sucking from the breast, and breast milk is still the preferred food for these babies.
- In premature, especially very low birth weight and low birth weight babies with retarded intrauterine growth, breast milk is expressed with the most physiological pump and is appropriately strengthened for these babies by adding 4 scoops of "Eoprotein" to every 100 cc of expressed breast milk.
- 100 cc of breast milk fortified in this way provides 80-85 kcal/kg/day energy; It contains 2.5 grams of protein and sufficient calcium-phosphorus.
- 100 cc of expressed breast milk contains 65-70 kcal/kg/day energy and 1.5-2 grams of protein.
- For babies who can be fed by breastfeeding, volume, calorie and protein requirements are not calculated.
- With formula instead of breast milk In case of feeding, the calorie and protein content of the formula used should be known, and foods containing adequate and balanced calcium, phosphorus, LCPUFA, nucleotides, prebiotics and iron should be selected and recommended.
- 100 cc of full-term baby food contains 70 kcal/kg/day energy and 2 g protein.
- 100 cc of premature food contains 75 kcal/kg/day energy and 2.5 g protein.
- Daily calorie requirement in babies fed with expressed breast milk, fortified breast milk or formula is 120 – 140 kcal/kg/day, protein requirement is 2-2.5 g/kg/day in term babies, 3 g/kg/day in premature babies. The total nutritional volume that the baby should receive daily is calculated by your doctor, assuming it is -4 g/kg/day.
- Meal volume is found by dividing the calculated total food volume by 8. Babies weighing less than 2-2.5 kg and less than 37 weeks sleep a lot, get tired easily while breastfeeding, and may not wake up when they are hungry.
- These babies must be fed 8 meals a day. However, many babies who are born on time, have a normal birth weight, are strong and lively, may spend more of their time sleeping and expend less energy, and may require less than 8 meals a day.
- In these babies, whose number of daily meals is less, the baby may not be able to take the meal volume calculated according to the number of meals. In this case, feeding is planned according to the baby's weighing intake. The needs and weight gain of each baby consuming the same amount or meal are different and individual.
- It should not be forgotten that the stomach volume of babies is '30 x body weight' in cc. Since physiological gastro-esophageal reflux may also occur, it should never be aimed to fill the stomach completely during meals, as it may overflow. As a general rule, the meal volume calculated by dividing the daily total food volume by 8 is suitable for every baby.
- Feeding interval, feeding duration, and number of daily feedings should not be defined for breast-fed babies. These may vary from baby to baby. Just like adults, babies have types that eat fast or slow, get hungry frequently, snack, or settle for rare large meals.
- Breastfeeding is unique and special to each mother-baby couple. It cannot be standardised. Opposite physician attitudes may occur when the baby does not comply with the recommendations. It increases the level of anxiety, creates a feeling of inadequacy, undermines self-confidence and actually causes a decrease in milk production.
- As a physician, the best approach is to constantly support the mother in this regard, to emphasize how good a job she is doing, and to say that only the baby's ability to empty one breast at each breastfeeding is sufficient for the maintenance of breastfeeding.
- When a sufficient sense of "trust" is achieved within the mother-physician relationship, the mother will be able to turn a deaf ear to anyone other than her physician.
- Mothers of premature babies who can breastfeed their babies 8-10 times a day, even for short periods, should be advised to breastfeed for 5-10 minutes and supplement it with premature formula instead of supplementing 8 meals of expressed and fortified breast milk in order to complete the baby's nutritional needs. >
- It should not be forgotten that it is too difficult and tiring for a mother to connect to a pump and express milk 8 times in addition to breastfeeding 8-10 times while caring for her premature baby with special needs. The mother should be reminded that she will become strong enough to feed only by breastfeeding, and her sense of confidence about the future should be reinforced.
- Bottle feeding does not cause confusion in sucking memory and breast rejection in babies who need to be supported after breastfeeding after the first few weeks. A feeding bottle can easily be recommended to make the mother's daily life easier.
- On the other hand, babies who have never breastfed should not be given a bottle, and spoons, syringes and droppers should be tried.
- Unless the baby weighs less than 2-2.5 kg and is less than 37 weeks old, it should not be woken up for breastfeeding or bottle feeding after the first few weeks and especially at night.
- A reverse approach makes it difficult for the baby to establish a day-night routine and disrupts the sleep pattern.
- Babies suck continuously for 3 purposes in the first months. Hunger, thirst, pleasure. Not every sucking desire should be interpreted as "hunger". In fact, the mother's breast serves three purposes.
- However, in babies whose sucking instinct is very intense, if the mother can no longer meet all the demand, a pacifier may be recommended for sucking for "pleasure" purposes.
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