One reason that NICU RNs give me for limiting feeding time for these preemie babies is that baby's energy expenditure in the act of feeding is so high that baby will lose weight if baby takes longer than the official feeding time limit. It seems to be irrelevant how much by volume or by calories babe took in during that feeding time (your case: 20 min; my hosp: 30 min). There iseems to be no acknowledged difference in energy expenditure between breastfeeding or bottle feeding in these 20 to 30 minutes; its more related to being awake and active. Then baby must sleep soundly until the next feeding time so s/he will gain weight. But no one has been able to direct me to any journal studies that support that assertion.
We need some NICU experts to help us understand. 
Phyllis


---- Cassidy Hotz <[log in to unmask]> wrote: 

=============
Permission to post.

A friend of mine is also a client. 3 weeks ago she had her baby at 33 weeks 
gestation (he is 36 week 3 days today) and she emailed me questions about the 
NICU and scheduled feedings. I haven't yet worked with a baby currently in the 
NICU, so I thought I'd ask your wide range of experiences. Is this routine 
across NICUs? Doesn't it seem odd to expect a twenty minute feed when full term 
babies often eat for a shorter time? 


"Nicu is very scheduled (for reasons I understand) but my mothering  through 
breastfeeding is not oriented to clocks and timed feedings. This  is making it 
difficult for me (& baby) to get in full feedings.  Their policy is to 
supplement w/expressed breastmilk when the nursing  session lasts less than 
twenty minutes. They do use a sliding scale to  determine how much to give. I 
know that he can take in more than an  ounce (which is 30 ml a full feeding is 
50 ml) in ten minutes (one of  the nurses is working with me & we weighed him 
before & after).  In your exp/understanding is baby going to be able to meet 
their  expectations of a 20min feed? I know of course that it all depends on  
baby etc. I just don't want him to have to stay at hospital extra long  just 
because of a possibly outdated policy. To be fair, the staff &  Dr. are 
beautifully pro-breastfeeding and go out of their way to  provide support."

I searched the archives and found info that was several years old. Any thoughts 
on current practice? Maybe some links to research?

Thanks!!
Cassidy IBCLC, LLL
in central Oklahoma




             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
      

--
Phyllis Adamson, BA, IBCLC
Glendale, AZ.
[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome