In the NICU - Feeding
Supplements & Parental Nutrition
Nutritional supplements and Parental Nutrition
Some babies require additional nutrients to meet increased needs. These can be provided as supplements. Staff will advise if a supplement is recommended.
Breast milk fortifier (BMF)/human milk fortifier (HMF)
- While breast milk is full of goodness, it may not meet the increased nutritional needs of babies born preterm.
- A fortifier containing energy, protein, vitamins and minerals may be used to meet these increased needs.
Some of the more common nutritional supplements
- Breast Milk Fortifier
- Glucose (Sugar)
- Protein
- Energy (Calories)
- Vitamins
- Iron
- Salt
- Others
Parenteral nutrition
Preterm baby receiving parental nutrition (the blue & red bags)
If your baby takes a while to progress with milk feeds, fluids and nutrition can be given intravenously (IV) instead; this means it goes directly into their blood, bypassing the gut.
IV fluids can provide sugar and salts for your baby. It can also give a wider range of nutrients. This is called parenteral nutrition (PN). PN is another way to give nutrition if milk feeds are slow to progress.
