In order to prevent loss of calories and weight in the premature baby, I
advise the mother to keep her baby swaddled snugly to prevent his
overexertion....he should be given an external environment which closely
resembles the womb. I encourage parents to do "kangaroo care...." It can be
a challenge to maintain the baby's temperature because he has less body fat
than the term baby and cannot self regulate his temperature. Also, the
preemie will sleep almost all of the time until his actual due date, which
makes preventing weight loss difficult as well.
One trick I use is the "squeeze, squeeze, suck, suck" technique. Because
the baby expends more calories in sucking effort than can be obtained, we
have the mother express her milk into the baby's mouth each time he has
suckled two or three times.
-Valeria El Halta, Midwifery Today Issue 36
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 14 April 7, 2000)
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