The Newborn Infants and the Special Care Baby Unit is a support book for parents. 

Written by the neonatal team at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, it is designed to give parents the knowledge to help them through a very challenging and emotional time.

It covers a range of topics including the benefits of kangaroo care, a guide to neonatal equipment on the ward, the psychological impact on the parents, and how to safely handle and feed your new baby. It also provides information on preparing your baby to go home and aftercare when at home.

Preview the book here, or contact Cow & Gate to order free copies to give to parents. 

Freephone 1800 371 371 or email hcp@cowandgate.ie.

 

 

Preterm Infants

A preterm infant is a baby born before 37 weeks gestational age

Low Birth Weight (LBW) Birth weight < 2,500g (5lbs 8oz) Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Birth weight < 1,500g (3lbs 5oz) Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) Birth weight < 1,000g (2lbs 3oz) Premature Born between 35-37 weeks Very Preterm Born between 29-34 weeks Extremely Preterm Born between 24-28 weeks   Aims of Neonatal Nutrition Short Term Survival after birth To mimic the growth and development that occurs in utero (2-3 times higher than that of term infants i.e. 18-20g/kg/day) Long Term To allow maximum attainment of potential growth and development Problems associated with preterm infants Lower immune system response Susceptible to infection More vulnerable Delayed colonisation with good bacteria Immature renal function Immature gastrointestinal gut Lower body reserves Incidence of preterm infants in Ireland 5% of infants in Ireland are born low birthweight (LBW) <2500g (CSO 2005) 1/3 of preterm births occur for no apparent reason In Ireland the neonatal mortality rate per 1,000 live births has decreased1 Year        Rate 2005        2.7 2006        2.7 2007        2.1

 

Breastfeeding Preterm Infants

For information on Cow&Gate Breastmilk Fortifier please click here.

Bottle feeding premature infants

Cow&Gate Nutriprem Range

 

 

Glossary of terms

AGA – appropriate weight for gestational age
SGA- small for gestational age due to due to poor intrauterine growth
Corrected Age – chronological age adjusted according to how early baby is born i.e.baby now is 10 weeks old, born 5 weeks premature. Corrected age = 5 weeks

References

1. Central Statistics Office. Report on Vital  Statistics 2006 and 2007 (Online at www.cso.ie)