Program Educates, Helps Moms Breast-Feed Preemies

SAN DIEGO -- In the quiet neonatal intensive care unit at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital, Maren Parker takes her tiny baby girl, , McKenna, from an isolette, and rests her against the bare skin of her chest.

PROJECT QKIDS Learn More About Project QKids 10News Project QKids Story Archive

A small tube runs from a pump down McKenna's throat, and into her stomach. As her mother rocks and holds her, McKenna receives one of her seven daily feedings.

At 2 months old, McKenna weighs just over 2 pounds. That's a great improvement over her birth weight of less than 1.5 pounds. And it's all thanks to her mother's breast milk.

McKenna is still too little to nurse naturally. So Parker has been pumping breast milk for her daughter since the day she was born.

"She needs my breast milk. She needs all the antibodies in it and the benefits that would result from her getting breast milk instead of formula," Parker said. So, "they pump it through this tube every three hours and it goes right into her stomach."

McKenna's doctor helps support Parker in her breast-feeding mission.

"Mother's milk is tailored for the needs of her own baby," said neonatologist, Dr. Nancy Wight.

"Mothers who deliver prematurely have more protein, more other infection-fighting factors in their milk," she said.

Wight is trying to spread the word about the importance of breast-feeding to premature babies, and healthy babies, through her work with the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition. Thanks to a grant from The First 5 Commission of San Diego, the coalition educates health care providers about breast-feeding, and supports mothers in their efforts to breast-feed their children.

According to Wight, the benefits of breast-feeding last long after infancy.

"Not only are babies more healthy, (and experience) less infections in the newborn period, but we're now learning that early diet and nutrition can affect your blood pressure when you're 80," she said.

Studies have also shown that premature infants who are breast-fed grow up with a slightly higher IQ than preemies who are fed formula . "It's one of the best things you can do to improve your child's ability to learn and to interact with his or her environment," Wight said.

But even dedicated mothers like Parker can have a difficult time with their breast milk. That can leave them discouraged.

"I get clogged ducts a lot," said Parker.

She said she felt like giving up on breast-feeding McKenna, but couldn't because she knew how much her daughter needed the superior nutrition in breast milk.

Many mothers, of both premature and full-term babies, experience the same frustrations. "Over the first two weeks to four weeks, a lot of them stop and go to formula," said Wight.

"That's what were here as a coalition and what First 5 has done is given us the opportunity to help those women, get them to resources, get them to help over the tough period of the first week or so."

As McKenna matures, Parker is teaching her to breast -feed naturally. She can't suck or swallow yet, but she is learning how to latch on.

Soon, she will be able to nurse on her own; a great benefit for McKenna, and for her mom. "It's very therapeutic for mom as well as the baby. It's a great bonding time," said Parker.