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Subject:
From:
Michelle Meeks <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:00:32 -0600
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Laurie - my suspicion would be this - 

They have it backwards - the feeding will not warm him up - it will simply
keep him from dropping his sugar when he burns up calories trying to stay
warm. That is the reasoning I come up with. 

A baby who is not generating his own heat will not be able to do so with
more glucose, protein or other substances on board - in fact - I would think
that when the body turned it's attention to digesting that hard to digest
formula that the baby would end up actually having less fuel to burn to stay
warm, because he's be burning energy trying to digest. 

I have been in a level 3 NICU the past 3 years and I have never heard of
such a thing. The 2 other NICU nurses I asked about this looked at me
cock-eyed and asked me where I would have heard such a thing! "That baby
needs a warmer or skin to skin kangaroo care!" was the concencus. 

The book "Comprehensive Neonatal Nursing" 3rd Ed. Has a section on thermal
management - pages 214-217

It states on page 216 "A decrease in stress and conservation of calories
places the infant at less risk for temperature instability, or at least for
instability resulting from depleted energy stores" 
(That does not mean we need to add more energy - it means we need to keep
the baby warm!)

It also says "In most cases, feedings should be witheld from a cold-stressed
infant to prevent problems caused by a decrease in gastric motility" 

Calorie conservation though is DIFFERENT from calorie addition! They have it
backwards. And they could be setting a pre-term to near-term (or a stressed
term!) infant up for NEC. 


Michelle Meeks, RN

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