Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is an intensive care unit treating and caring for very small, premature, or ill babies. In a NICU, Neonatologists, nurses, physicians, dietitians and many other disciplines and specialists are working to improve neonatal health.
Smaller milk banks located within or in connection with a NICU are sometimes called Milk kitchens. In the milk kitchen, the mother's own milk is stored and prepared for the preterm infant. Processing of the milk could include pasteurisation, macronutrient analysis, bacteria screening, calculation of fortification and also fortification of the human milk. If the mother has more milk than needed for her newborn, the milk can be stored in a freezer for use as donor milk.
Using Miris HMA at a NICU
A Miris user at a NICU or a Milk Bank/Kitchen may use the results gained from the analyzer in different ways to perform Individual nutrition through target fortification. Below we present some of the ways Miris equipment is used around the world, making it possible to give individual nutrition to very low birth weight infants.
Mother's own milk at the NICU
The mother’s milk is collected during a period of 24 hours with only one morning expression per period. The collected milk during that period is pooled and a sample is taken out for macronutrient analysis with the Miris equipment. Analysis starts within a week after birth when the mother pumps approximately 50 ml/24h. Analysis is usually performed once or twice a week and the results are added into a calculation sheet/program and the fortification is ordinated by the physician. Before analysis was available the mother’s milk was fortified according to a standard fortification guideline. If the mother's own milk is not available, donated milk fortified according to macronutrient analysis and infants needs is given to the infant.
Donated milk at the NICU
Sometimes the NICU receives donor milk from an external milk bank. If the donor milk is not already labelled with the macronutrient content, analysis is done and the results are added into a calculation sheet/program and the fortification is ordinated by the physician if needed.
In some countries NICU receives donor milk from a milk bank where the milk has been analysed and classified based on the known macronutrient value. Depending on the classification, this milk is given to preterm babies without nutritional fortification.