When Liz Holness gave birth to her son Henry, at just over 24 weeks’ gestation, artificial nutrition became a vital part of the complex clinical regime to improve his chances of survival.
Henry, who suffered cerebral bleeds from a bruising birth, received what Ms Holness, 34, describes as the “blue bag visit” every morning, providing the nutrient feed for his intravenous drip. A blood test earlier in the day would identify which nutrients were most needed and a mix was created specific to his requirements.
“The way it was described to me was like the bag was replacing the placenta,” his mother said. “It was providing what the placenta had done when he was in the womb. We knew that the line was taking vital nutrients straight into his system. We were very, very aware that that was what was keeping him alive and helping him to gain strength.”
The care received by Henry — now a happy and healthy 18-month- old — was fantastic and life-saving, said Ms Holness, a production editor for an art magazine in London. She added that it showed how important nutrition was to a premature baby’s chances of survival.
Henry, who weighed 1lb 13oz (822 grams) at birth, was kept on the parenteral nutrition drip for about a month. He was then transferred to breast milk, enhanced with supplements that had been collected from his mother since his birth.