The majority of Spanish maternity hospitals bet not to restrict the visit of parents to their premature babies, admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU).
But there is still the second part: letting mom and dad get completely involved in their care and that this includes breastfeeding on demand, without restrictions.
A new European study has shown that facilitate exclusive breastfeeding of large preterm infants in the NICU, not only encourages them to go home before but also increases the likelihood of successful breastfeeding at discharge.
Skin with skin and exclusive breastfeeding
Every year 15 million premature babies are born in the world, which represents one in 10 births. When this occurs, fears, tears, anxiety for their parents appear.
But the baby also suffers significant stress by being deprived of certain family care, both physical (breastfeeding or constant environmental stimuli), and emotional (skin-to-skin contact and attention of parents and siblings that help reduce anxiety and loneliness).
In Babies and more Born prematurely, an arrival in the world ahead of time for which no one is preparedIt is known that the involvement of parents in the care of their premature children is one of the pillars of neonatal care. That the neonatal units are open to parents 24 hours a day, facilitates breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact.
The involvement and integration of the family in their hospital care, reduces the incidence of possible health complications, hospitalization time and improves brain and psychomotor development, minimizing sequelae.
Breastfeeding established on the way home
The study 'Results of breastfeeding in European NICUs: impact of parental visit policies', carried out by researchers of the European EPICE project, studied the importance of breastfeeding in large premature infants, in 11 EU countries , and have verified that those who enjoyed unrestricted visits by their parents, had twice as likely to be discharged with exclusive breastfeeding, which in centers with controlled schedules.
The article, published in the British Medical Journal, followed the evolution of large premature babies discharged in 11 countries of the European Union and spent more than 70 percent of their short life in the same NICU.
In Babies and more When you discharge your premature baby and finally take it homeThe researchers studied babies who were breastfed and others who were not. In addition, they calculated the presence of parents in the ICU of neonatals, on a scale of one to ten.
The data confirmed that the policies regarding visiting hours, their duration and the possibility that parents stay during medical rounds and spend the night in the NICU differ from one country to another and even within each one.
With all these factors in mind, the conclusion was that infants treated in units with open-door parental policies were approximately twice as likely to be discharged with exclusive breastfeeding, and with all the benefits that it implies for the immune system of the baby.
Undoubtedly, one more reason to bet on the ICUs of nenonates open to parents 24 hours a day and promote direct care, so that the mother can help her child through healthier and more complete nutrition: breast milk.
Photos | iStock
