Did you know - a baby develops their suck reflex in the womb at around 34 weeks’ gestation?
So, for babies born before 34 weeks’ gestation many are fed via a nasogastric (NG) tube (a fine tube passed through the nose and into a baby’s tummy).
Did you know - mothers express for their babies in NICU on a 3 hourly cycle? Neonatal units have ‘expressing rooms’ where mothers gather to pump milk for their babies and sterilise expressing equipment. Some mothers have a plentiful supply of milk, whilst other mothers can find establishing milk supply difficult - often due to the stress and environment of the neonatal unit or recovery following birth trauma.
Expressed milk can be given to babies via their NG tubes and many mothers remember the first time they see their baby having their expressed breast milk.
Did you know - expressing mothers set their alarm at night to continue expressing on a three-hourly cycle? Many mums get up throughout the night to feed a baby who is not with them and perhaps they have not yet held.
Establishing feeding – breast, bottle, expressed or formula – in neonatal care can be a difficult journey and through our stories and experiences we hope to shine a light on the NICU world and offer hope to those embarking on this journey.
Winnie was born at just 27 weeks, weighing only 530g (1lb 2oz) . She spent 204 days in hospital, facing countless battles, including five episodes of sepsis. From her very first day of life, Winnie relied on a feeding tube due to her prematurity.
Read MoreMy boy Arlo was born at 28+2 weeks’ in May 2024, weighing just 825g (1lb 14oz). He was fed via a nasogastric (NG) tube with expressed breast milk for several weeks. I was taught to tube feed him too!
Read MoreMy second son was born unexpectedly at 28w in December 2013 via a very emergency section, 15 hours later I was finally allowed to visit my beautiful tiny little boy, and the expressing began as soon as I returned to my room…
Read MoreNo one had spoken to me about expressing before. I guess I’d never thought of it before and at 30 weeks pregnant preparing to feed my baby seemed like a long way off. And now here he was; covered in lines and tubes. Monitors beeping and in a pespex box so far removed from me.
Read MoreGiving birth 29 weeks into my first pregnancy meant that nearly everything was taken out of my control, well the things you can control during pregnancy and birth anyway; planning maternity leave, maybe a baby shower, a decorated nursery…
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