Born at 35 Weeks - Able to Nurse That Early?

My niece was born by c-section at 35 weeks, she was less than 5 lbs but in great health. She never went to the NICU and was exclusively breastfed (it just took her a long time, my sis pretty much nursed 24/7 for the first weeks). She was so tiny, my sister's boob was like twice the size of her head - it looked ridiculous.
My sis did stay in the hospital a bit longer than with her other kids, because L was so small, she could not regulate her body temp yet. However the hospital was a university clinic and implementing new reasearch all the time. Instead of keeping my niece in an isolette, they kept her in skin to skin contact with my sister to keep her warm. I am pretty sure that this helped her ability to breastfeed as well.
My own daughter was born at 37 weeks and nursed like a champ before we even clamped her cord...
Good luck!

I had a 34 weeker and unfortunantly we were unable to nurse for two weeks (and definantly not right away as he was wisked away to the NICU after a one picture photo op) due to tubes, vents and an immature suck. It took a lot of work, but by the time he was 12 weeks he was able to nurse. Until then I pumped and tube/syringe/bottle fed.

I pumped and also did kangarooing with our little one. they will try and give your little one formula but that messes with the process. Babys dont get that amount initially from you. Please speak up for yourself I have had a couple instances of frustration about nursing vs. NICU ideas.

1. Kangaroo with you or your husband as much as possible.
2. Pump and remind them to give the baby your milk only
3. Get with the lactation person at your hospital RIGHT AWAY!

A really great renowned lactation individual is Karen Kerkhoff Gromada if you have any questions she will give you great answers. She also did a recent article on kangarooing with her son and his daughter

My first daughter was born between 34-35 weeks and I nursed her. It was strongly encouraged by the NICU. She latched on just fine. I had to pump and supplement her feedings because I was unable to be with her every time she needed to eat (drink?) plus for a few days she had to be fed through a little tube. Once she was out of the NICU I no longer needed to pump and nursing went wonderfully.

My son was born at 37 weeks... and he still had trouble nursing. I continued to try.. and eventually had to use a 'nipple shield' (i never heard of it until then!) to help him latch on. I guess each baby is different, but I know preemies have a tougher time - weak latch, weak suckle. Just have to keep at it! Good luck!

Yes you can nurse that early. You don't get your milk in at first -- it's colostrum. It's excellent for babies. This happens whether the baby is born at term or pre-term. I've known Moms that nurse babies that were barely 30 weeks. My nephew was born just before 36 weeks and he's happily breastfed.

Talk to the hospital's lactation specialist and tell her you want to nurse. They should come see you as soon as the baby is born and offer you help on how to. If you've already had your baby you should still be able to nurse, usually the lactation specialists are a free resource so I recommend talking to them.

Good luck!

My 4 year old was born at 36 weeks and she was able to nurse. It just takes a little more work than usual. As soon as she's born and BEFORE they take her away put her straight to your nipple and see if she takes it. They may also set you up with a breast pump, it'll help keep your supply up since baby is so tired when born that early. They had me wake her up every couple hours to nurse for the first couple months or so. It literally seemed like I was nursing non-stop and I also supplemented with formula. She did nurse for 6 months though. Good luck!

my daughter was born at 36 weeks and was taken straight to the NICU. I did not get to hold her until she was 38 hours old and they didn't let me try to nurse her until a day after that. So i guess my answer is no, i didn't get to "try" to nurse her until she was 3 days old and it took her a few days after that to figure it out. In the mean time I just pumped to get my supply going.

My friend's baby was born at 33 weeks (water broke at 31), and as soon as the baby was out of NICU, she was able to nurse. Sometimes the mom might need a nipple shield if the mouth is too small, but I think that depends on the advice, more than the baby, as my friend went natural from the start. Just make sure you are pumping that that the baby gets your milk from the start. Good luck!!

I think it depends on the baby - I would recommend finding a lactation consultant that has experience with premies to help. Breastfeeding is natural, but that doesn't mean it's easy :)

At the NICU where I worked nursing was strongly encouraged, but it really varried for each baby when they were able to suck.

Some preemies (those without respiratory problems) were essentially just strapped to a half naked mum with their mouth at the nipple so they didn't even have to turn their head to nurse, and they'd nurse 24/7. Others just simply didn't have the suck reflex/ability yet (too much work), others had lung or heart or other organ problems which made nursing life threatening.

It really goes case by case.

babies are sucking in the womb before you can even see a pooch in your belly for that reason. never hurts to try, if they dont' suck, they can't nurse or be bottle fed...that's the only way a baby can eat without being hospitalized.

My boys weren't born *quite* that early - one was born at 36 weeks, the other at 37 weeks, but my 36 week-er did have some latch difficulties. He was able to latch on, but got sleepy very quickly and it was hard for him to get enough to eat, plus with my inverted nipples it was a difficult for him to latch once my milk came in. I ended up using a nipple shield, which I've heard a LOT of preemies start breastfeeding with, and had really good luck with it. My son was exclusively breastfed for the full year I had planned. I also found a case for my nipple shield called a Shield Shell which is great for storing shields between feedings. I kept one in my diaper bag and a couple around the house so I always had one handy. They are available online at www.shieldshell.com.

As for being able to nurse right away, I guess it just depends on the health of your baby and if the NICU nurses thing that he/she is stable enough to breastfeed. Definitely let them know that that is what you want to do though, so they can give you the opportunity whenever LO is ready.