Book Description
Even though NICU care has improved the survival rate for premature infants dramatically, the percent of premature and low birth weight infants continues to rise. Although the benefits of human milk for term infants are well recognized, only recently has attention been paid to the crucial role of nutrition in the long-term outcome in premature infants. The good news is that current research confirms that human milk is especially important for the preterm infant in regards to host defense, gastrointestinal development, special nutrition, and neurodevelopmental outcome. The bad news is that many health care providers and NICUs are not taking full advantage of this “liquid gold,” and are not fully supporting mothers in their desire to provide milk and breastfeed their infants. In Best Medicine: Human Milk in the NICU, neonatalogists Nancy Wight, Jane Morton, and Jae Kim discuss the use of human milk and the support of breastfeeding for the premature infant and for all NICU infants. They provide both the “why” and the “how” to enable health care providers to take full advantage of human milk, and evidence to empower mothers of NICU infants to access needed assistance. They conclude that human milk should be the standard of care for all infants, particularly preterm infants. After reading this book, you will fully appreciate why human milk is the best medicine and the best nutrition for premature infants.
