Fed When Hungry, Premature Babies Go Home Sooner
Fed When Hungry, Premature Babies Go Home Sooner February 17th, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Other Although many parents and health care providers attempt to schedule a preterm newborn’s feeding pattern, a new review of studies reveals that feeding in response to the infant’s own hunger cues might result in earlier discharge from the hospital. As preterm infants mature to about 34 weeks old — approaching what would have been full term — it might make be time to ease away from rigid schedules, suggested review co-author William McGuire: “Maybe we should be more holistic and baby responsive, especially in regard to feeding. Maybe the babies know what they want and need better than we do.” McGuire is a professor of child health at the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at Hull York Medical School, in England. The researchers performed a search of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group to find eight pertinent studies, which included between 13 and 150 preterm infants. Six studies took pla...