Breastfeeding the NICU Infant: What to Expect.

Approximately 14% of infants born in the United States are admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU). The evidence for the use of human milk in the NICU is convincing. NICU mothers are at greater risk of delayed onset of lactation and insufficient milk when compared with healthy breastfeeding couplets.

ABM clinical protocol #1: guidelines for blood glucose monitoring and treatment of hypoglycemia in term and late-preterm neonates, revised 2014.

A central goal of The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is the development of clinical protocols for managing common medical problems that may impact breastfeeding success. These protocols serve only as guidelines for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants and do not delineate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as standards of medical care. Variations in treatment may be appropriate according to the needs of an individual patient.

A quality improvement project to increase breast milk use in very low birth weight infants.

Objective: To evaluate a multihospital collaborative designed to increase breast milk feeding in premature infants.

Methods: Eleven NICUs in the California Perinatal Quality of Care Collaborative participated in an Institute for Healthcare Improvement-style collaborative to increase NICU breast milk feeding rates. Multiple interventions were recommended with participating sites implementing a self-selected combination of these interventions.

Hypoglycemia in breastfed neonates.

Healthy, full-term infants are programmed to make the transition from their intrauterine constant flow of nutrients to their extrauterine intermittent nutrient intake without the need for metabolic monitoring or interference with the natural breastfeeding process. Homeostatic mechanisms ensure adequate energy substrate is provided to the brain and other organs, even when feedings are delayed. The normal pattern of early, frequent, and exclusive breastfeeding meets the needs of healthy full-term infants.