The nutritional value of raw breast milk in feeding premature babies with a birth weight of below 1500 g
Hohenauer, L.
Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift 92(2): 53-57
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0043-5325 PMID: 6929632 Document Number: 167335
Raw milk expressed from the infant's own mother is the ideal initial nutrient, even for premature babies with a birth weight < 1500 g. When these babies start to grow very rapidly from about the 3rd wk of life, this milk is probably nutritionally inadequate. For babies with birth weights > 1500 g raw milk provided by the natural mother is the ideal nutrient at all times. A simple and inexpensive system which enables the collection of breast milk and testing of the bacterial count of each sample of milk is reported. This milk is given to the babies without any heat treatment if the bacterial count is .ltoreq. 103/ml. Milk displaying bacterial counts of 104-105/ml is boiled. Milk with higher bacterial counts is discarded. Intensive counseling of the mothers as to personal hygiene, with particular emphasis on breast hygiene and pumping technique, improves the quality of the milk. Of the milk samples delivered, 43% had bacterial counts of < 104/ml.