Advancements in medicine have made things possible today that would never have been possible just a few decades ago. For example, infants that are born as early as 20 weeks of pregnancy now have a fighting chance of survival. Of course, premature babies face an uphill battle in terms of their growth and development, and the mortality rate climbs higher and higher the earlier the baby is born. While there are many factors that go into the health of a premature baby, one of the newest and most promising areas of research has to do with premature babies and how probiotics are able to help them.

First off, probiotics can help premature babies by helping to reduce the risk of yeast infections. It is estimated that around a third of all premature babies may suffer from a yeast infection. Probiotics have been shown to reduce the risk that the premature infant will have a yeast infection. Two specific probiotics, Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, showed the potential to prevent yeast infections in premature infants, with Lactobacillus reuteri being almost twice as effective as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in clinical studies.

In addition, Lactobacillus reuteri can help the premature baby’s digestive system, helping with a higher tolerance for food intake in general, and less weight loss in the first week of life. In fact, infants who were given Lactobacillus reuteri only experienced gastrointestinal symptoms in around 3% of cases, while almost half of the infants in the control group experienced gastrointestinal symptoms. Here again, premature babies given the other probiotic fell somewhere in between, with around one in six of that group experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms.

These factors all contribute to the overall way that probiotics can help a premature baby. One study suggests that the hospital stay of premature infants who were given Lactobacillus reuteri averaged 21.9 days, while premature babies who were not given Lactobacillus reuteri averaged 42.3 days in the hospital.

Recommended Products: