How many ml should a premature baby eat each time

The digestive function of premature babies is relatively weak, so you must pay more attention to them during feeding. They should eat small meals frequently and not feed too much each time. The stomach volume of premature babies is relatively small, but because they develop relatively quickly, they need to feed multiple times a day. The specific amount of milk a baby drinks depends on the child's development and weight. Let's take a look at how many milliliters a premature baby drinks each time.

How many ml should a premature baby eat each time

How many milliliters of milk a premature baby eats a day depends on whether he is breastfed or formula-fed. Although premature babies have small stomach capacity and weak gastrointestinal digestive function, their growth and development are very fast and they need to supplement a large amount of nutrients in a timely manner. Therefore, feeding premature infants must be done carefully and in accordance with their physiological needs.

Breastfed premature infants:

Generally speaking, breast milk is the best food for premature babies. Breastfeeding should usually begin within 24 hours after birth. Premature babies weighing about 2 kg can be fed every 3 hours, each time for 5-10 minutes; premature babies weighing less than 1.5 kg need to be fed every 2 hours, each time for 2-3 minutes. If the baby does not show signs of fatigue, the feeding time can be gradually increased.

Formula-fed premature infants:

Newborns need to eat 7-8 times a day, with an interval of about 3 hours. Mom and dad should follow the principle of gradual feeding. On the first day, feed 15-20 ml each time. Starting from the next day, increase the amount by 10-15 ml each time until 60 ml each time.

After the baby can accept this amount of food, you can increase the amount by 10-15 ml every other day, eventually reaching 90 ml each time. After about a week, the frequency of feedings can be reduced to 5-6 times a day.

The calculation of the amount of milk to be fed to premature infants can refer to the following formula:

For premature babies in the first 10 days, the daily milk feeding amount (ml) = (actual number of days since the baby was born + 10) * weight (kg) / 100. For infants over 10 days old, the daily feeding amount (ml) is 1/5-1/4 of the body weight (kg).