Each year, around 5000 New Zealand babies are born prematurely (before 37 weeks gestation); 85% of them between 32 and 37 weeks. They usually need to stay in a neo-natal intensive care unit, or NICU, until close to their original due date.
A mother tube feeds her premature baby Photo: Liggins Institute
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“They look like term babies, they behave in many ways like term babies, and we think their outcomes are like term babies’, explains Liggins Institute director and project lead Professor Frank Bloomfield.
But that may not be the whole story, he says.
‘These babies are at increased risk of a variety of issues that affect their health in later life. Obesity, Type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and also developmental issues.’
Large scale studies over the last 20 years have followed pre-term babies into adulthood and have uncovered these worrying findings. A variety of factors are involved, but one of them may be the care these pre-term babies receive after birth.
The DIAMOND study is investigating how pre-term babies are fed during their first few weeks and whether there is a better way. Justin Gregory talks to Professor Bloomfield and members of his team about the big questions around getting a good feed.
