Mother’s Own Milk Expression: A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase the Provision of Maternal Milk in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Abstract

Breastmilk or maternal milk is widely recognized as the recommended primary source of nutrition for very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. Many of these infants are unable to feed at the breast, leaving mothers with the task of manual breastmilk expression. Providing breastmilk has been proven to decrease morbidity and mortality in VLBW infants. Literature suggests that early breastmilk expression, within six hours of delivery, is key to the long-term success of providing breastmilk and breastfeeding. Many studies have shown a positive correlation between early breastmilk expression and maternal education provided by lactation specialists and neonatal intensive care nurses. However, little is known about the direct impact a maternal nurse has on early breastmilk expression. This paper will discuss the implementation of a quality improvement project aimed to increase knowledge on the benefits of maternal breastmilk in VLBW infants and the importance of early breastmilk expression among nurses in a labor and delivery and postpartum unit. Education provided to maternal nurses and visible reminders to initiate breastmilk expression proved to decrease the time to initiate breastmilk expression among mothers with VLBW infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.