Parent Stories
After my husband and I tried for nine years to get pregnant, I became pregnant with my miracle baby. The pregnancy was going well, until my water broke unexpectedly. I gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Luz, on May 16, 2016. She was born 26 weeks gestation, 13 inches long and weighed 2.2 lbs. Despite being born 14 weeks early, Luz was healthy – although she required oxygen flow therapy due to bradycardia, she learned to breathe on her own.
During my 2 months stay in the NICU, I visited her 5-10 hours every day and pumped breast milk for her religiously; I also watched the nurses fortify my milk with Prolact+ H2MF. With [an exclusive human milk diet], she consistently gained weight every day and never had an infection.
On July 16, 2016, my baby girl finally came home! Luz had challenges with acid reflux, but she was otherwise healthy. Next, we took her back to the hospital for laser eye surgery to prevent blindness from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
What we thought would be one night turned into three – it took her over 28 hours for Luz to wake up from the sedation. Seeing her limp in her little bed was the most difficult experience I lived through. But, as always, Luz recuperated and came home.
Today, Luz is 3.5 months adjusted, 6.5 months chronological. She weighs 11.5 lbs and measures 23.8 inches. She has outgrown her preemie, newborn, and 3-month old clothing. She smiles often, loves talking to people, sleeps through the night, and can almost lift herself up. Luz is showered with love from my husband, me, and extended family members. We feel truly fortunate.
My husband and I know things could have been much worse. Other than treating for ROP, Luz has no major health problems. We have seen her overcome every challenging goal and milestones. We are so thankful to our friends and family who prayed for her as well as the people who helped provide Luz with the proper nutrition.
We sincerely believe that [an exclusive human milk diet] helped her grow healthy and strong. We find comfort knowing that there are new ways to support preemies through feeding, controlled environment, medicine, and love. We look forward to seeing more healthy babies." Sincerely, Silvia Oseguera Luz's Mother
An exclusive human milk diet is when 100% of the protein, fat and carbohydrates in an infant’s feed are delivered solely from human milk. This can be accomplished with mom’s milk, donor milk, and 100% human milk-based neonatal nutritional products.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants and is one of the most common causes of visual loss in childhood and can lead to lifelong vision impairment and blindness. To learn more about the disorder, visit the National Eye Institute.