Managing tandem breastfeeding during acute hospitalization: A case study

Abstract

This case study presents a mother who continued tandem breastfeeding throughout the acute admission of her critically ill newborn. Her younger child, the subject of this case report was admitted to our hospital with septic shock and progressing bullous scalp lesions. The infant had streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis of the scalp due to streptococcus pyogenes. The infant required immediate life-sustaining interventions, followed by weekly surgical procedures which meant the infant had brief periods of intravenous nutrition surrounding the time of anesthesia administration. During instances when the infant was unable to orally feed, such as while intubated for procedures, she was fed her mother's milk via nasogastric tube.At times that the infant was stable to orally feed, the mother directly breastfed the infant. Even when the infant was on strict bedrest, bedside nurses assisted the mother with infant positioning to breastfeed. In addition, when the infant was able to be held out of bed, the mother was able to resume breastfeeding both of her children simultaneously. Despite the critical nature of this child's illness, the mother was able to provide 100% human milk diet to her child during the 68-day hospital stay. With assistance and support of nursing staff the mother was ultimately able to resume breastfeeding both children simultaneously.