Feeding a baby with a heart condition — Tips from AboutKidsHealth
GUEST BLOG: Alisha Papineau, AboutKidsHealth
Some heart conditions make it difficult for a child to eat and grow. To help babies with heart conditions get the nutrients they need, it is best to breastfeed. If you can’t breastfeed, you can bottle feed and express your milk to maintain your milk volume.
Breastfeeding a baby with a heart condition in hospital is possible and has many benefits in addition to the well-known nutritional benefits of breastfeeding. If you have any concerns, a lactation consultant or your baby’s nurse can help. They will advise you on how best to hold your baby for their comfort and for any healing considerations after surgery.
Benefits of breastfeeding a baby with a heart condition
Breast milk offers many benefits including nutrients, antibodies, and other mechanisms that protect your baby from infection and disease.
In addition to these, breastfeeding also allows babies with heart conditions to get more oxygen and contributes to a more normal heart rate. Breastfeeding comes more naturally, so it’s easier for babies with heart conditions to suck, swallow and breathe when breastfeeding than bottle feeding.
Bottle feeding when you can’t breastfeed
It’s possible your baby will not be able to feed from the breast right away because of their condition or because they require immediate treatment, but you can still provide breast milk by expressing (pumping) about every three hours. This will help mothers establish and maintain a normal breast milk supply for when the baby is able to start feeding regularly.
Some heart conditions make it difficult for a child to eat and grow.
If mothers are unable to or choose not to breastfeed, nurses or occupational therapists can help with any bottle feeding concerns. Some babies with heart conditions will have a hard time feeding from a bottle. Using slow-flow bottle nipples can help.
Medications and feeding
If your baby needs medicine by syringe regularly, it’s generally best to administer the medicine before feedings.
It is not recommended to mix medication into formula when bottle feeding because the baby might not finish the entire serving, and therefore would not receive the required dose of medicine.
Find more information in the article, “Feeding a baby with a heart condition”.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ health-education website and features more than 3,500 articles on a range of paediatric health topics. Find more information on heart conditions and nutrition at aboutkidshealth.ca.
