Factors Influencing Breast Milk Feeding in Singleton Late Preterm Infants

Abstract

In Korea, the number of babies has gradually decreased from 465,900 in 2008 to 326,000 in 2018. However, the preterm birth rate has increased from 5.5% in 2008 to 7.8% in 2018 [1]. Late preterm infants (LPIs) born at 34 0/7 to 36 6/7 weeks gestation account for two-thirds of premature babies [2]. The physical and neuromuscular immaturities of LPIs cause various health issues such as respiratory distress, jaundice, hypoglycemia, and feeding difficulties [3-5]. In particular, LPIs’ feeding difficulties just after birth fail to initiate breastfeeding and poor breastfeeding establishment [3]. Therefore, LPIs have more significant risks for lower breastfeeding rates at discharge and postpartum than that of term infants or even more premature neonates born less than 34 weeks of gestation [6-8]. While breast milk is the most optimized nutrition for all infants, it is especially important to infants born early and have an insufficient immune response and immature organs, including the brain [9]. Besides, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that mothers should exclusively breastfeed infants for the first six months without any suppleFactors Influencing Breast Milk Feeding in Singleton Late Preterm Infants Su Jin Kim, Gun Ja Jang Doctoral Student, Department of Nursing, Eulji University, Daejeon; Professor, Department of Nursing, Daegu University, Daegu, Korea