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

Abstract

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. 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). 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). 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.