Breast milk is especially important for premature and medically fragile babies because it is the ideal nutrition for their developing bodies. Premature infants have immature digestive systems, and breast milk is easier to digest and better tolerated than formula.
This allows many babies to reach full milk feedings sooner, reducing the need for prolonged intravenous nutrition.
One of the greatest benefits of breast milk is that it significantly lowers the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious and potentially life-threatening intestinal disease. NEC is one of the most feared complications in the NICU, and human milk is one of the most effective strategies we have to decrease its incidence and help protect premature infants.
Breast milk also provides antibodies and other protective immune factors that help reduce the risk of infection while supporting healthy growth, brain development, and long-term health. For these reasons, we consider a mother’s own milk the preferred nutrition for premature infants whenever possible.
When a mother’s milk is not yet available, pasteurized donor human milk may be used, with parental consent, for eligible babies while we continue to support mothers in establishing their own milk supply. Together, these unique properties support growth, improve feeding tolerance, promote recovery, and give premature infants the strongest possible start.
At One Brooklyn Health ( OBH) Brookdale Hospital, a Baby-Friendly Hospital, our staff is educated and fully equipped to support a mother’s feeding journey. From labor and delivery to the mother-baby unit and the NICU, nurses, pediatric residents, and neonatologists provide consistent, hands-on lactation support.
We help mothers initiate pumping, establish and maintain their milk supply, assist infants with latching when they are developmentally ready, and teach families how to safely provide expressed breast milk for their hospitalized infant.
Our support begins before delivery with prenatal education, continues throughout the NICU stay with individualized feeding plans and bedside lactation support, and extends after discharge through community programs such as Healthy Families and HealthySteps. Our goal is to provide families with consistent, continuous support throughout their breastfeeding journey, from pregnancy through the NICU stay and beyond.
That commitment extends beyond the hospital through our Improving Breastfeeding Outcomes in Brownsville initiative, led by Dr. Bird-Williams, OBH Pediatric Resident Physician under my mentorship and supported by an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) CATCH Grant.
Developed in collaboration with our lactation team, HealthySteps, and community partners, including local churches and doulas, the initiative provides coordinated breastfeeding support beginning during pregnancy, continuing after delivery, and extending into the home and pediatric clinic to help improve breastfeeding outcomes in our community.
Parents of NICU babies often face the emotional challenge of being separated from their newborn while their baby receives specialized care. That separation can be stressful and may interrupt the natural bonding process that is so important for establishing breastfeeding. Many premature infants are not yet developmentally ready to breastfeed.
Babies born extremely premature often lack the coordination to suck, swallow, and breathe effectively, so they initially receive expressed breast milk through a feeding tube until they are ready to safely feed at the breast.
At OBH Brookdale Hospital, we use a family-centered, interdisciplinary approach to support families every step of the way. Our multidisciplinary team, including lactation consultants, neonatal nurses, social workers, pediatric residents, and neonatologists—works together to provide education, encouragement, and individualized support throughout the NICU stay and after discharge.
One of the most rewarding parts of our work is seeing babies who were born three or four months early leave the NICU exclusively breastfeeding. Those successes reflect the resilience of these infants and the partnership between families and our healthcare team.
Family involvement is an essential part of a baby’s care and recovery in the NICU. We don’t view parents as visitors; we view them as valued members of the healthcare team. From the very beginning, we encourage parents to be present, ask questions, and participate in their baby’s care as much as their baby’s medical condition allows. Even when babies are too fragile for extensive hands-on care, parents can still play an important role by talking or reading to their baby, providing expressed breast milk, and simply being present at the bedside.
As babies become stronger, parents are encouraged to participate in feeding, diaper changes, and skin-to-skin care. Skin-to-skin contact promotes bonding, supports breastfeeding, and helps regulate a baby’s temperature, heart rate, and glucose levels. Our goal is to empower parents throughout their NICU journey and strengthen the lifelong bond between parents and their child.
The biggest advancements in neonatal care have come from a much better understanding of the diseases that affect premature infants. Advances in surfactant replacement therapy, gentler respiratory support, nutrition, infection prevention, thermoregulation, and family-centered care have dramatically improved outcomes. As a result, we are now able to successfully care for babies born at earlier gestational ages than ever before. Neonatal care has evolved from simply helping premature babies survive to helping them survive with the best possible long-term outcomes.
The message I would like families to remember is that giving a baby the healthiest possible start begins with caring for the whole family. Every baby’s journey is unique. If your baby is in the NICU, the most important thing to remember is that you are an essential part of your baby’s healthcare team. You are not a visitor; you are a member of the team.
At One Brooklyn Health, we are here to guide you, support you, answer your questions, and partner with you every step of the way. The love, presence, and involvement of a parent are some of the most important things a baby can receive. Visit us at onebrooklynhealth.org for more information.