About 380,000 babies are born prematurely each year in the United States, and about 10 percent of those are born very premature, sometimes three months or more before their due dates.
It's well known that breast milk is the best nutrition for babies, but when a baby arrives months before their due date, breast milk alone isn't enough to meet the unique nutritional needs of the most fragile, premature infants.
Parents of preemies need to know that there are nutritional options in the NICU.
We talked with Melinda Elliott, M.D., neonatologist and Chief Medical Officer at Prolacta Bioscience about their 100 percent human milk-based fortifiers.
Dr. Elliott says studies show these fortifiers can help the most vulnerable preemies come home sooner and healthier.
Even babies that weigh less than three pounds are not just surviving, but thriving.
Dr. Elliott says, "If your baby was born very prematurely, ask specifically for Prolacta's 100% human milk-based fortifiers."
Visit the parent education section at Prolacta.com to learn more.
