Relactation, translactation, and breast-orogastric tube as transition methods in feeding preterm babies

The transition from tube feeding to exclusive breastfeeding represents an important period for preterm babies because of their clinical fragility and immature development. This study describes this transition in preterm infants in relation to different feeding approaches: relactation, translactation, and breast-orogastric (OG) tube, considering the duration of the transition, weight gain in the transition, feeding-related problems, and breastfeeding status at discharge. This is a descriptive study of a series of 432 babies using retrospective data from the medical records at the IMIP Kangaroo Mother Care Unit, in the northeast of Brazil. At discharge, the percentage of babies who were exclusively breastfed in the relactation, translactation, and breast-OG tube groups were 85%, 100%, and 100%, respectively, with a satisfactory transition time and weight gain and with 1.6% of cases with feeding-related problems. The results showed that the relactation, translactation, and breast-OG tube seem to be efficient methods in the feeding transition of preterm infants.