NICU breast milk warming practices and the physiological effects of breast milk feeding temperatures on preterm infants.

Purpose: No evidence-based standards exist for warming breast milk or determining the optimal milk temperature for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. In this study, we describe current nursing practices for warming breast milk and examine preterm infants' physiological responses to varying milk temperatures.

Subjects And Design: Randomly selected experienced neonatal nurses (n = 61) were observed as they prepared and administered breast milk gavage feedings.