Lynn Shea asks: My question to them and others in NICUs involves brfdng. f/u
once discharged.

Unfortunately our NICU follow up is catch as catch can due to lack of
resources. NICU moms are welcome to call our lactation center at any time
after discharge for telephone advice and also can make an appointment in our
outpatient clinic for bfdg help.  I would say that most do not.  We have a 40
bed NICU and a 20 bed intermediate care nursery and we staff with 2-3 LC's
per day during the week  and one on each weekend day.  We cover referals from
post partum (average 6-12 per day) NICU, IICN, outpatient and any bfdg mother
who has had a baby admitted anywhere in the children's hospital. This amounts
to what feels like a finger in the dike.

I think a good follow up program would involve a call several days after
discharge
and weekly follow up for the first month or so. It would also be wonderful to
collect data on milk production, breastfeeding initiation and duration and
look at breastfeeding outcomes as they relate to degree of prematurity in
this population.  Like Jan Wheaton the studies are all in my head.

Kathy Boggs, RN, IBCLC
Mountain View, CA 94040

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