[Breast feeding and length of hospitalization]

One of the important tasks for a nurse is to insure that the newborn receives all the nourishment that it needs. A well fed baby is healthier, experiences a shorter hospital stay and develops a stronger bond with its mother. To prove this point a study was performed on a group of low birth weight newborns (free of other pathological symptoms) to compare nutrition against hospitalization time. 85 children of both sexes were divided into 3 groups: premature but of normal gestational size, premature but small for gestational size, and full term but small for gestational size; all had a birth weight superior to 2 kilos and were examined postpartum on their first and third week. The groups were then subdivided into 2 groups: one received only artificial milk formula and the other group received their mothers' milk through a bottle. The children that drank the maternal milk required fewer days in the hospital (18 +/- 6 days versus 27 +/- 7 days for those drinking only formula) and had a smaller percentage of weight loss after birth (3.7 +/- 2.0% versus 5.2 +/- 2.9%), demonstrating a significant difference in their overall health.