Melissa:  This is not my area of expertise, and I have never had a spina
bifida baby in my personal practice.  However, there is certainly no
reason that the baby can't be fed EBM via whatever feeding method would
have been used with abm.  In fact, since these babies are especially
prone to infections,(particularly if they have an open area called a
meningomyelocele, which has parts of the spinal cord exposed), one could
argue for the crucial importance of receiving breast milk to reduce
infections in such a vulnerable baby.  So you could use all the good
references to back up the anti-infective properties of breast milk.
Other people's comments about nursing in the reclining position once that
is feasible, sound reasonable and I think that once a spina bifida baby
can be held, it would immensely benefit from the skin-to-skin contact
with breastfeeding.  Hope this helps.  Alicia.  [log in to unmask]