Babies Born Premature and Difficulty Breastfeeding

Many babies are born between 34 and 36.6 weeks gestation. While these babies stay in the hospital longer than babies born term, they typically do not stay in the hospital very long, limiting the additional support and teaching moms get around baby feedings.

If you have a baby born between 34-36.6 weeks, your baby probably gets easily fatigued while trying to feed at breast and likely has difficulty transferring milk. This is because premature babies have trouble signaling they are hungry, coordinating their breathing and eating, and controlling their alertness. Their brains haven’t had enough time to develop inside their mommy’s body.

Being so tiny, premature babies also have a harder time creating the negative pressure in their mouth, feeding, that is necessary to adequately transfer milk. I want to be sure you get all the support you can during this time. Just because your baby was born early doesn’t mean he can’t breastfeed… it just may take some time. There are a few evidence based and time-tested tricks that we, IBCLCs, have to help you with breastfeeding your tiny bundle-of-joy who came a wee-bit early.

Let me help you make sure you are doing everything you can to keep your milk supply up and supporting your baby so that the transfer to exclusive breastfeeding is as smooth as possible.

Need Help?

Do you have a premature baby who is having difficulty breastfeeding? Maybe you were in the NICU for a long time and never really got your baby latch and feed well. Contact Simply the Breast to schedule your appointment today.