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Nutrition for Neonates Undergoing Surgery for CHD — Special Considerations for the Exclusively Breastfed Infant — Clinical Pathway: Inpatient

Nutrition for Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease Clinical Pathway — CICU

Special Considerations for the Exclusively Breastfed Infant

  • For mothers who want to breastfeed ONLY, delay the introduction of the bottle as long as possible.
  • Follow Enteral Advance but administer ordered amount by NG only.
  • Infant may breastfeed on demand ad lib in addition to the NG advance.
  • Breastfeed intake does not need to be quantified during the feeding advance.
  • Mother should continue pumping and should NOT count breastfeeding sessions towards her total pump goal of 8-10 pumping sessions per day.
  • Perform pre/post weights when the infant is successfully latching onto the breast and swallowing with sustained sucking for at least 5 minutes as evaluated by lactation.
  • Once mother’s milk supply is 30% more than the infant’s diet order in a 24-hour period, suggest to the mother to start fractionating to feed infant hindmilk. Separating Hindmilk to Help Your Baby Grow
  • Breastfeeding mothers can pump first to remove foremilk and then directly breastfeed hind milk. Separating Hindmilk to Help Your Baby Grow
  • Hindmilk may not be appropriate for continuous feeding regimens because of fat loss through the feeding tube.

 

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