Answer:
My daughter and son were both born premature. They were both tube fed (with tubes inserted through their nose) with breast milk that I pumped. If you are unable to pump breast milk, they use a special formula for preemie babies. Unfortunately my daughter was overfed which led to her intestines rupturing. She lost 3/4ths of her intestines and colon and was then fed through an IV line. Due to problems she suffered over the course of 7 months (she never came home from the hospital) she passed away. My son was born 2 months early and weighed 3 lb 6 oz., she was 3 months early and weighed 1 lb 4 oz. He did not have the same problems. He was only tube fed for a short period of time. Maybe 2 to 3 weeks, until he learned to latch on and was able to be bottle fed breast milk. He came home a month later. Hope this answers at least part of your question. Maybe a NICU nurse or doctor could explain it better or tell of other ways that I don't know about.