Breastfeed a Premature Infant

When a woman decides to breastfeed her infant she is making a choice that will positively impact the life of her child, as well as herself. When that child is premature she takes on some new challenges, but they are easily overcome.

Breastfeed your baby as soon after birth as possible. This may not be immediate depending on how premature your infant is and whether there were any complications during the birth. A newborn baby is usually very eager to get to the breast and, if placed on the mother’s belly following birth, will crawl to the breast to suckle. See the link at the end of the article for a video of this amazing event.

Football Hold courtesy of  You will need to position the baby in the most comfortable hold for both of you. For preemies and newborns, this is often the football hold. In the football hold, the baby’s body is placed under the mother’s arm as the mother holds the baby’s head and lifts it to the breast.

You may have to tickle the baby’s cheek with the nipple to get the baby to open his/her mouth. As soon as the baby open’s the mouth wide insert the entire nipple area, including as much of the areola as possible. This may be challenging with a preemie due to the size of the baby’s mouth, but try the best you can.

If it is not possible for the baby to open his/her mouth wide enough. You may need to manually pump milk by hand (or you can use a store bought pump). Remember, a newborn needs only a small amount of milk in it’s first days. Colostrum, the newborn’s “superfood,” comes in before your normal milk supply and is even more important for a premature infant. Even if you do not plan to breastfeed, consider giving your baby the best gift in it’s first few days, your colostrum.