NICU LIFE : What are Milk Fortifiers?

The NICU isn't a place any new mama thinks she will be spending time in during those precious moments after her new baby is born. Even though 1 in 10 babies is born premature, we never imagine that “1” will be ours. Because of this, most moms have very limited knowledge of what goes into the care of babies born prematurely. If you or a family member is currently living the NICU life, you are probably very overwhelmed with all the tubes, machines, medical procedures, and medications necessary to keep your child alive and give them the absolute best care possible. It’s not for the faint of heart, and know that every moment spent within those NICU walls is making your tiny fighter so much stronger!

Our little boy Hollis was born at just 28 weeks due to a placenta abruption. He came very quickly during an emergency C-section. Our nurses were gracious enough to allow me one quick kiss on his forehead before he was taken away to the NICU to be stabilized. It was the most unnatural experience of my life. Even though I knew where Hollis was, and I knew it was all necessary to give him the best care, my heart and my head were both torn apart, and I could not fully understand why this was all happening.

Once my medication wore off, I was wheeled into the NICU to have my first real look at our precious new baby boy. I felt guilty and hopeless. He should have been safe and sound, growing inside me for another 12 weeks, and now there wasn't much I could do. He was too tiny to hold, and he was struggling to breathe, even with assistance. So, my husband and I sat beside him, praying endlessly.

I had breastfed my two older children and knew it was something I wanted to do for Hollis as well. The nurses reminded me that my milk would be one of things I could offer Hollis at this stage in his life, and it would be extremely beneficial to his health. I started pumping and storing milk around the clock. And while at first it wasn't much, my supply soon built up, and we had a large stockpile of breast milk! I was proud I could still offer Hollis something from me that was just for him. And while my breast milk really was the best milk option for Hollis, he still needed more calories. It was taking so much energy for his little body to learn to breathe, to try and stay warm, and to digest food that he was struggling to gain weight. Our doctors suggested adding a human milk fortifier to my breast milk. The NICU will add a fortifier to your breast milk to give your preemie the adequate nutrition and the boost they need in the NICU.

One thing preemie parents rarely think about is that breast milk may not be enough to help their baby grow. So, because preemies need more calories and protein to thrive, a fortifier is added to breast milk to provide this additional nutrition. And while it is very common to add fortifier to breast milk in the NICU, it can still be very overwhelming with the numerous other things going on. But even though the name says "human milk" fortifier, most of these products are made from cow's milk. Fortifiers that contain cow milk have been shown to increase the risk of serious complications, even necrotizing enterocolitis, which is a leading cause of death for preemies.

That is why I have decided to partner with Prolacta Bioscience, which offers the only human milk fortifier made from 100% human donor milk to give preemies the added nutrition they need naturally. I want to help raise awareness about this important topic so other preemie parents know that there is an alternative when fortifying breast milk in the NICU.

If you have a preemie, or you have family or friends who do, please share this with them. Visit the Prolacta Bioscience site and check out this infographic that has additional info that breaks down the details of this 100% human milk-based fortifier for you and your baby's care team.

I believe we can never be too careful when it comes to parenting, especially parenting our tiniest of fighters!! So, I will leave you with this: If you are a parent of a preemie currently in the NICU, know that it is okay to ask questions. In fact, the right thing to do is ask questions. It is important to trust the NICU doctors and nurses, but educating yourself on the medical care your preemie is receiving is also extremely important. You aren't doing anything wrong by asking "Why?" when you are told about a new medication, new care, or a different route being taken for your preemie. And if you don't feel 100% comfortable with the plan -- it is also okay to ask for a second option.

Although this post is sponsored by Prolacta Bioscience, all opinions are my own.