Promoting Lactation Education, Access, and Support Efforts for Preterm Infants
Promoting Lactation Education, Access, and Support Efforts for Preterm Infants
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a post-hospital discharge lactation support
 system increases preterm infant intake of mother's milk.
Preterm infants have barriers to successful breastfeeding that include oral feeding
 immaturity and high nutritional needs. Therefore, successful preterm infant breastfeeding
 requires increased counseling and equipment support compared to full-term infant
 breastfeeding. Inpatient preterm infant care has responded to these barriers, with
 specialized preterm infant lactation support. Unfortunately, for preterm infants, the onset
 of feeding maturity often coincides with hospital discharge and, therefore, inpatient,
 specialized lactation support ends just as the infant initiates nutritive feeding at the
 breast. Therefore, the success of preterm infant breastfeeding relies on the home environment
 and the community pediatric caregivers. A program has been created to provide this
 specialized preterm infant/mother outpatient lactation support. The program includes in-home
 availability of a hospital-grade electric pump and an infant weigh scale and pediatric
 clinic-based lactation counseling support. Fourteen pediatric practices are included in this
 study. Seven practices were randomized to intervention and seven were randomized to be
 controls.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Any infant discharge to home from the Medical University of South Carolina neonatal
 services

 -  Born <35 weeks' gestation

 -  Mother providing her milk and plans to continue providing her milk for at least 6
 months

 -  The infant's post-discharge pediatric clinic identified by mother as one involved in
 the study

 -  The eligible twin will be the first twin discharged from the hospital or, if discharge
 occurs simultaneously, the infant identified in the hospital as "twin A" will be
 eligible.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Infants with major congenital anomalies

 -  Infants with anomalies affecting oral intake

 -  Infants receiving tube feeds at hospital discharge

 -  Infants receiving parenteral nutrition at hospital discharge

 -  Triplet or greater pregnancies

 -  Twin of the one enrolled twin will not be eligible.