Did you know that a micro preemie sometimes eats only 1 oz of milk a day!!? That means in 8 days, they’ll have consumed 1 cup of milk! I am lucky enough to have 2 full-term babies that eat much more than that. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky, and I wanted to find a way to help. Keep reading to learn more about micro preemies, and learn about my cause!
What is a micro preemie?
A baby born before 26 weeks or weighing less than one pound, 12 ounces is considered a micro preemie. Sometimes, this definition includes babies weighing less than three pounds and born before 29 weeks. Many of these babies face critical health problems their first few weeks of life and require intense medical attention in the NICU.
The good news is that micro preemie survival rates are higher now than any other time! Because of awesome medical advancements, more micro preemies are surviving and thriving; many are living without any serious, life-long complications.
What do micro preemies need?
Extremely premature babies, need all the help they can get! Most micro preemies can’t breathe, eat or regulate their body temperature on their own. Because of this, micro preemies spend anywhere from a few weeks to a few months (or longer) in the NICU receiving the help they need to grow strong.
Why do they need donor milk?
Mamas of premature and micro preemies often have trouble producing enough milk. Sometimes, their milk hasn’t even come in yet and other times their babies are too sick or too small to nurse, which makes it even more difficult for a new mom to express enough milk.
Donor milk gives these babies the opportunity to have real, human milk and experience all of its wonderful, immune-system boosting benefits.
How can I help?
If you can, donate breast milk! The best thing for a micro preemie is human milk. Breast milk is made up of disease-combating and immune-boosting components. These components help protect newborns against infection and give them the strength they need to continue to grow and develop!
If you can’t donate breast milk, and still want to help micro preemies get a healthy start you can donate to a milk bank on your own, or by purchasing a handmade craft from Emiscrafty. Read all about EmIsCrafty’s cause.
A sampling of crafts from my etsy shop:
Written by this weird, but talented, vegan girl I know. 🙂
This info is extremely inaccurate. “Micro preemies” spend significantly longer than “a few weeks” more like a few months. They can’t even START bottle feeding until 34-36 weeks. And you can in no way lump 26 weekers with 37 weekers. Please do not post info like this. It is Misleading for moms.