Open AccessRecommendations to promote breast milk feeding and enhance nutritional care for preterm infants in the Asia-Pacific region: highlights from a roundtable discussion of key opinion leaders
Author(s) -
Fook-Choe Cheah,
Tian Lee Tan,
Ursula Herulah,
Charisma Dilantika,
Leilani Muhardi,
Girish Deshpande,
Rinawati Rohsiswatmo,
Satish Saluja,
Ruurd M. van Elburg
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
malaysian journal of nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.192
H-Index - 28
ISSN - 1394-035X
DOI - 10.31246/mjn-2020-0124
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , breast milk , specialty , breast feeding , medicine , opinion leadership , business , public relations , political science , nursing , family medicine , pediatrics , biochemistry , chemistry
Preterm infants are vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies, thus optimal nutrition is crucial in promoting growth among these infants. However, socio-cultural complexities and limited resources in the Asia-Pacific demands a judicious approach in implementing nutritional care that is pragmatic to align with current evidence-based recommendations. Methods: A roundtable meeting was held in Jakarta in 2017 for key opinion leaders in neonatology from the AsiaPacific to discuss issues when delivering nutritional care in this region and the unique circumstances encountered. Results: Priority areas discussed include: (i) breast milk feeding, (ii) donor milk bank/sharing, (iii) human milk fortification, and (iv) nutrient-enriched breast milk substitutes. Socio-cultural practices impeding breastfeeding, insufficient maternity leave, the religious issue of milk kinship, and limited availability of specialty nutritional care products were among the most challenging factors. Conclusion: The group proposed recommendations to enhance breastfeeding uptake, accessibility to a complete portfolio of specialty nutritional care products, and encouraging more active collaborations to engage policy makers in addressing these contemporary issues.