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Date: | Mon, 12 Sep 2005 20:18:07 -0500 |
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I only see babies after they are long gone from the NICU. My perception is
that having a baby at the breast with a nipple shield with appropriate
follow-up is way better than having them exclusively bottle-fed...which is
what I see most frequently. In my experience, if a baby leaves the NICU
removing some milk on his own at the breast, it seems they have a much
better chance at long-term breastfeeding. If they are exclusively
bottle-fed until they come see me at 2-3 months of age, it is sometimes
impossible to convince them to take the breast. (I should say I can usually
coax them into staying on if I squirt milk quickly behind the shield the
entire time, but many parents will not do this at home.)
The keys to success as I see it would be:
-being sure the baby is on the breast itself, not just the tip of the nipple
shield
-pumping as long as needed to optimize supply if it helps baby mostly get
food at the breast
-making sure the baby always opens WIDE before getting on the shield (this
really helps when time to wean off shield, AND helps wqith getting baby on
farther)
-follow-up frequently with naked weight checks and pre/post weights until
SURE the baby is flying solo.
Kathy Leeper, MD, IBCLC
Lincoln, NE
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