Multi-prong quality improvement approach for increasing mother's own milk use for very low birth weight infants

Neal Boone; Beth Bohara; Allison Rohrer; Molly Gros; Mathew J Gregoski; Kimberly Lee; Carol L Wagner; Katherine Chetta

doi:10.1038/s41372-023-01835-w

Multi-prong quality improvement approach for increasing mother's own milk use for very low birth weight infants

J Perinatol. 2023 Dec 20. doi: 10.1038/s41372-023-01835-w. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Neal Boone¹, Beth Bohara², Allison Rohrer³, Molly Gros⁴, Mathew J Gregoski⁵, Kimberly Lee², Carol L Wagner^{2

6}, Katherine Chetta^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. boonen@musc.edu.
² Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
³ Department of Clinical Nutrition, Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
⁴ Department of Lactation Services, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
⁵ Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
⁶ Darby Children's Research Institute, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.

PMID: 38123800
DOI: 10.1038/s41372-023-01835-w

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate a single center quality improvement (QI) collaborative designed to increase the provision of mother's own milk (MOM) at discharge to premature infants through evidence-based practices while targeting perinatal health disparities.

Design: This QI initiative was designed for preterm infants admitted to a single-center NICU within 24 h of life. Interventions were implemented between March 2022 and June 2022. MOM provision rates were compared between baseline (August 2021-February 2022), and after interventions (March 2022-December 2022).

Results: The percentage of mothers who discontinued pumping during the infant hospitalization decreased from 49% to 35% (p < 0.01). Infant discharge diet with MOM improved from 36% to 58% (p < 0.001). Pump frequency at two weeks increased from 4.0 ± 2.6 to 5.1 ± 2.4 (p = 0.026).

Conclusion: Our collaborative increased the percentage of preterm infants receiving MOM at discharge and reduced the number of mothers who discontinue pumping during the NICU hospitalization.

Grants and funding

UL1 TR001450/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States