The Neonatal Subcommittee is responsible for initiating and overseeing the Increasing Breastfeeding and Human Milk Use in the NICU initiative.
The goal of the initiative, and its associated learning collaborative, is to increase the number of very low birth weight infants that will receive human milk, preferably their mother’s milk, as their primary source of nutrition to assist with their immune and gastrointestinal tract development. More specifically, this project is focused on helping participating hospitals identify and overcome barriers to establishing maternal milk supply and barriers to supporting breastfeeding in the NICU. Initiative to Improve Infant Nutrition and Care in NICUs
Currently there are nine Level III & six Level IV hospitals participating in the project, as well as two observing hospitals. Approximately 800 NICU beds are covered by the project.
The learning collaborative is designed to enable teams to share, test, and implement ideas for improving rates of human milk and breastfeeding among very low birth weight babies.
In particular, the collaborative working to increase the use of human milk and breastfeeding by focusing on components of a “NICU Breast Milk Feeding Bundle.” This bundle was developed through discussion through the participating hospitals throughout the state who have all been working to increase breastfeeding and the use of human milk in the NICU, and is informed by the extensive literature on breastmilk utilization in the NICU.
For more information on the initiative, visit the intervention page on this site.