Gradually covering all hospitalized newborns, World Breastfeeding Week | Fudan Pediatric Breast Bank will expand and double the capacity of premature infants | breastfeeding | human milk
From the 1st to the 7th, it will be the 32nd World Breastfeeding Week. According to reports from the Pediatric Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, since the establishment of Shanghai's first NICU breast milk bank in 2017, through continuous efforts, the breastfeeding rate for extremely/ultra-low birth weight premature infants has increased from 25% to 100%. Within this year, the human milk storage facility will be relocated to a new building, while further expanding and doubling its capacity. Breastfeeding will gradually cover all hospitalized newborns.
Professor Cao Yun, Director of the Department of Neonatology at a pediatric hospital, stated that for many newborns with premature birth, low birth weight, infection, and intestinal diseases, breast milk can improve their gastrointestinal digestion and absorption function and immune ability, exert anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, promote the establishment of enteral nutrition in critically ill newborns after gastrointestinal surgery, reduce the incidence of serious diseases in premature infants, promote the growth and development of premature infants, postpartum recovery of mothers, and physical and mental health.
It is reported that the number of premature infants with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks and a birth weight of less than 1500 grams admitted to the domestic neonatology department is increasing year by year, with long hospital stays. Breastfeeding plays an important role in the treatment of these premature infants. In order to further improve the breastfeeding rate of premature infants, the NICU Human Milk Bank of the Pediatric Hospital has established a multidisciplinary management team for breastfeeding of extremely low birth weight premature infants, established a breast milk donation system and collection, storage, and feeding processes, established a mother's colostrum oral immune intervention process, and a series of standards for breast milk ingredient quality management.
Although there are many special requirements for breastfeeding premature infants in NICU, and it is difficult and challenging to breastfeed under the separation of mother and infant, the medical team strives to educate the concept, theory, and practice of breastfeeding as soon as the baby is born, starting from the transportation of premature infants to the hospital until discharge, and striving for the participation of parents is of great benefit to the baby's treatment and recovery.
In addition, to ensure that babies receive breast milk as soon as possible, we provide breastfeeding collection facilities and equipment for their families as soon as possible, ensuring the collection and transportation of breast milk and alleviating the anxiety of novice parents. At present, the NICU ward is equipped with two international lactation consultants who can answer professional questions related to breast milk every day, ensuring a smoother lactation journey for mothers.
According to Liu Chan, an international lactation consultant at NICU Breastfeeding, there was a mother of a premature baby at 27 weeks of pregnancy who suffered from postpartum hemorrhage. Due to her insistence on pumping milk, her family was concerned about her body's opposition to pumping, resulting in conflicts. After learning about the situation, the neonatal breast milk team quickly intervened to help evaluate the mother's condition, communicate fully with the family, and finally, with the support and efforts of the breast milk nurse, mother, and family, the premature infant received full breastfeeding at NICU. After discharge, the lactation consultant provided education and tracking, and the baby was exclusively breastfed until the corrected gestational age of 6 months.
Actively advocating and promoting breastfeeding for hospitalized premature infants has played an important role in the treatment of extremely low and ultra-low birth weight premature infants. So far, Fudan Pediatric NICU Human Milk Bank has donated 2.45 million milliliters of breast milk for collection. At present, more than 30 parents bring breast milk every day to feed their hospitalized babies with love from their mothers.
