49 3. General guidelines on breastfeeding The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months of their life. It is recommended to start complementary feeding for preterm babies once they weigh over 5 kg or reach a corrected gestational age of five months and above. 4. Fortification of mother’s milk to provide additional nutrients for your premature baby Although breast milk is designed to meet the nutritional needs of a full-term baby, additional minerals, proteins, and vitamins may need to be added to the breast milk when feeding a premature baby. The human milk fortifier (HMF) is a powder added to expressed breast milk and is offered to the baby via tube feeding. Milk fortification is generally stopped once the baby starts directly breastfeeding.
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