Pediatric Resident Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Elmhurst) Elmhurst Hospital Center Elmhurst, New York, United States
Background: The AAP recommends the use of pasteurized donor human milk (DHM) for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (< 1500 g) when mother’s own milk is inadequate or unavailable. Pasteurized donor milk, when provided as a sole diet or in conjunction with mother’s own milk for preterm infants, is protective against necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure factors associated with satisfaction and knowledge of DHM in mothers whose infants received DHM in the NICU.
Design/Methods: This was a prospective study of mothers whose infants had received DHM during their NICU stay. A multilingual tool was developed for the study and underwent expert validity by neonatologists specializing in human milk. IRB approval was obtained for the study. Data was analyzed by t-test and linear regression analysis.
Results: 22 mothers participated in the study. Mothers’ mean age was 34±7 years. The infants were born at a mean gestational age of 30±2 weeks, birthweight of 1350±336 grams, received a mean 14±12 days of DHM and were breastfed for a mean 5.3±5.9 months. Maternal satisfaction or knowledge was not associated with maternal age, parity, born in US, college education, marital status, employment, history of breastfeeding, infants’ gestational age or birth weight, days of DHM or months that the infant was breastfed. Higher scores for satisfaction and knowledge were associated with mother’s knowledge of DHM prior to the birth and those who did not speak English (Table 1). Regression analysis revealed that only maternal satisfaction was associated with higher scores on knowledge (Table 2). Additionally, higher knowledge scores were associated with increased willingness to donate to a milk bank (Table 3). Conclusion(s): Only higher scores of maternal DHM knowledge were associated with higher maternal satisfaction with DHM. Maternal education of DHM should be started during pregnancy for all mothers.
Higher maternal scores for satisfaction and knowledge were associated with mother’s knowledge of DHM prior to the birth and those who did not speak English.
Regression analysis revealed that only maternal satisfaction was associated with higher scores on knowledge.
Higher knowledge scores were associated with increased willingness to donate to a milk bank.
Authors/Institutions: Xiang L. Ng, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Elmhurst, New York, United States; Kevin Heringman, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Elmhurst, New York, United States; Jorge M. Revelo Escobar, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Elmhurst , New York, United States; Anita Noble, Hadassah Medical Organization, Jerusalem, , Israel; Lawrence Noble, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Elmhurst, New York, United States
