Dani,
  I am not a NICU nurse, so I can't share any professional
experience, but I do have a couple of suggestions.
 1. You should congratulate yourselves that you have
such a high breastfeeding rate. It's tough to breastfeed
when one must pump for at least a couple of weeks before
getting the baby on the breast. That takes a lot
of commitment from the moms and support from the staff.
  2. Instead of looking for outside sources for bottles or
other types of bottles, how about re examining the budget?
Making it easy and safe for moms to provide breastmilk to their
NICU babies should be a top priority. Is there somewhere
else you can cut corners, something else that can be
dispensed with so that bottles can be available to these moms?
  3. While I beleive, in principle that bottles for nursing
mothers should be part of the NICU budget, perhaps they could
get a boost from the hospital auxialiary orgnaization. I think
that in many hospitals these auxialiary groups raise money
for special causes within the hospital. Can you apply
for some of these funds?
  4. What about insurance companies? I don't know how NICU
care is covered by insurance companies, but if they
pay for formula, couldn't they also be billed for breastmilk
bottles?
  I don't know how realistic these suggestions really are, but
they may help someone with more experience think about
other solutions.
  Keep us posted.
   Naomi Bar-Yam


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New England Complex Systems Institute
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