Complications with BM fortification (prolacta)

[Stelly]

My little guy is one month old tomorrow (born at 28+4 due to pre-e)... he has been taking tube feeds of expressed BM, currently on 34ml given over 2 hours, then gets two hours "off". They started adding fortification to my BM called prolacta (to up his calorie.intake per feed with out increasing volume)... but since they started bumping his prolacta levels up to gain weight (he has been having trouble gaining) his respiratory status has gotten worse and hes having digestion issues- belly gets all distended and bloated. Every time they increase his prolacta- he requires more respiratory support and he still isnt gaining much weight. Has anyone dealt with this?? They wanted to bump him to the highest level of prolacta supplement and I finally put my foot down and refused because its just making things worse for him and I want to put a stop to the viscious cycle hes on... dr's agreed to.hold off for 72 hours. Just want to see if anyone else has dealt with similar...

Hes gained 13oz since birth, but apparently this is too slow Feel so bad for my lttle boy hes been feeling so crummy!

 

[Prolacta]

Please contact us if you would like to discuss the issues your little one is having. All the best to you and your baby!


Ashley at Prolacta
888-776-5228

 

[mommy0629]

Please contact us if you would like to discuss the issues your little one is having. All the best to you and your baby!


Ashley at Prolacta
888-776-5228

Wow! lol


I can't remember what brand of fortifier was used for my lo (I wish I could find out for you, but I don't have it written anywhere any more), but it did give her some digestive issues. She had explosive poops after EVERY feeding and had the worst diaper rash I've ever seen because of it even though she was changed every time. She also had LOTS of gas that was just so smelly it didn't seem normal. She was getting my pumped bm at the time, mostly through the tube and a little by mouth. I seriously thought there was something wrong with my BM! Finally one of the nurses told me that it was probably from the fortifier, that it was common for the babies on it to have some tummy trouble. My lo also wasn't gaining weight well and the days she did gain weight it was always a tiny amount and then she'd stay the same or even loose a bit. Then I SERIOUSLY thought it was a problem with my milk

So, fast forward a bit and lo gets sent home with regular preemie formula (Enfamil Enfacare) to use as a fortifier to up her calories (one of the nurses suggested it to the neo. dr. as an alternative to the fortifier so it would be less expensive for us and so incase I didn't have enough pumped milk at some point we could mix it with water to make as regular formula as a back up. Those nurses where fantastic!). She still had the gas when we came home but the pooping was much less, the rash went away and she gained more weight in the first 2 days than she did in over a week of her NICU stay!

I don't know what the make up is of these "fortifiers" vs. just a preemie formula (that will do the same thing btw) but it didn't sit well with my lo either OR help her gain weight. She did much better on just my bm with a bit of high calorie formula mixed in.

I'd say contact this company, since they gave you their number here , and then talk to your lo's dr. Of course gaining weight and the extra iron etc. is more important than tummy trouble, but it looks like it may be causing your lo some reflux? which could be causing his resperatory problems. I'm obviously no dr., but use your mommy instincts and if it's doing more harm than good, insist they try something else. Good luck hun and please let me know how it goes

 

[Stelly]

Wow agreed lol Im surprised I got a response from the company itself (and a little creeped out on how they know something about them was posted heehee) Will call and ask.

I thought about possibilty of reflux, but I guess I figured I would see spit-up/higher post meal residuals etc.... I honestly think it mainly is a digestive issue- his stomach gets so bloated and hard and constipated, theres nowhere for his lungs to expand. Plus it got the point they were taking xrays every other day because there was fears of bowel perforation & NEC.

I will ask about formula as a fortifier- thank you so much for responding! They havent given him any more prolacta since I posted this and thibgs have xalmed down substantially, normal bowel movements, back on room air and weve gained 4oz!! Yay!

 

[Sam182]

I had to ask to have my son taken off fortifier as it was causing him to have a very distended belly and he seemed uncomfortable. I knew the weight would go on eventually and he actually started gaining really well once he came off it x

 

[mommy0629]

Wow agreed lol Im surprised I got a response from the company itself (and a little creeped out on how they know something about them was posted heehee) Will call and ask.

I thought about possibilty of reflux, but I guess I figured I would see spit-up/higher post meal residuals etc.... I honestly think it mainly is a digestive issue- his stomach gets so bloated and hard and constipated, theres nowhere for his lungs to expand. Plus it got the point they were taking xrays every other day because there was fears of bowel perforation & NEC.

I will ask about formula as a fortifier- thank you so much for responding! They havent given him any more prolacta since I posted this and thibgs have xalmed down substantially, normal bowel movements, back on room air and weve gained 4oz!! Yay!

He could also have been having the resperatory issues just from some pain in his belly, ya know?

It almost bothered me that they were fortifying my bm tbh. I mean I understand things are different with a preemie etc., but I think most of these babies would do just fine on bm alone and then a vitamin suppliment for the extra calcium and iron (and I think there's something else "extra" in the fortifiers, can't remember though).

That's awesome that he's doing so well now!! See, doctors don't always know best with stuff like this, mommy's instinct and our own milk is just fine Maybe he doesn't even need your milk fortified at all then. Do they have him on a vitamin once a day?

 

[Stelly]

They do, he is getting a multivitamin once a day + iron, then he is getting epo every M-W-F cause his blood count was low.

It rather bothered me about the fortification as well.. but in my mind, whilst our NICU staff is amazing, they want to get them home as fast as possible- so I think they really push fortifiers to bulk baby up faster. It was mostly the docs pushing the fortification, thankfully his nurses agreed with how I felt on the matter and really went to bat for me on the issue.

He is doing SO much better. Everyday has been a substantial gain.for the good SO happy

 

[mommy0629]

They do, he is getting a multivitamin once a day + iron, then he is getting epo every M-W-F cause his blood count was low.

It rather bothered me about the fortification as well.. but in my mind, whilst our NICU staff is amazing, they want to get them home as fast as possible- so I think they really push fortifiers to bulk baby up faster. It was mostly the docs pushing the fortification, thankfully his nurses agreed with how I felt on the matter and really went to bat for me on the issue.

He is doing SO much better. Everyday has been a substantial gain.for the good SO happy

Yeah, they mean well with the fortifier, but it didn't do a darn thing to help my lo gain weight either, she gained better on just bm also. BM is perfect right? That's the only thing that bothered me, it's drilled into us when we're pregnant how our bodies make the perfect food for our babies and how it changes to meet their needs etc. etc., so when all of a sudden my bm wasn't good enough it kind of trivialized the effort I was putting into doing what I could for my baby (pumping), ya know? I seriously think my lo's Dr. would have rather had her on the preemie formula, the nurses had my back though

Soooo happy your little guy is gaining well!

 

[gryphongrl]

We allowed the NICU to give one single dose of fortifier before we had time to thoroughly research and then (in writing so that it was clear) remove our consent. Same thing... she did not digest it well, and she was gaining well on breastmilk. I found some studies (look for studies NOT funded by the labs that make the fortifier) that showed premature babies at 2 years old are the same size, with or without fortifier, though the growth curve without it is different. All babies being different of course, ours has averaged more than an ounce per day over her time since birth on BM.

Another thing, check the contents of the vitamins they are using. There are some nasty chemicals in those things. We also did not consent to those.