Why is breastfeeding premature babies important?
Premature babies face extra challenges in life. This is especially true for micro-preemies who are born very early and have extremely low birth weights. These babies have not had time to fully develop their internal organs or receive immune system protection from their mothers. As they grow, they are prone to infection and do not do as well developmentally as their full-term counterparts. The human body is an amazing thing, though. It knows when a baby has come early and tries to protect the infant by producing special breast milk to compensate for some of what was missed in the womb. Preterm breast milk differs from full-term milk in that it is higher in calories and contains more protein, calcium phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, sodium, and chloride. As with full-term breast milk, preterm milk offers immune system protection through the antibodies found in colostrum. Colostrum contains high amounts of immunoglobulin A, which helps a preemie fight off infections (especially in their weake
