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Years Active: 2009-2013

Human Milk

for the NICU

PROJECT AIM:

The 2012 aim approved by the teams at the Annual Meeting, is to improve the health of infants admitted to the NICU in Tennessee by increasing initiation and sustainment of enteral nutrition with human milk. Clearly there exist some contraindications and barriers to achieving total use of human milk for all NICU infants. Thus, we seek to increase the rate of human milk feeding by 10% (relative to baseline) by December 2012.

This project went into sustainment in January 2013. Preliminary provisional QI data for human milk utilization among very low birth weight (birth weight less than 1500 grams) at the first feeding, first full feeding (off parenteral fluids), and at NICU discharge is displayed above.

Complications associated with initiation of enteral feedings in very low birth weight (VLBW) babies & all NICU babies are a widely recognized source of excess morbidity, mortality, costs, and length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. Multiple reports have documented the efficacy of human breast milk in reducing NICU feeding morbidity. This project is being led under the direction of Dr. Reddy Dhanireddy and Dr. Steven McElroy with pilot member hospitals developing the project including The Med, Parkridge East, and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt & East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.

Monthly aggregate percentage of VLBW infants receiving breastmilk for first feed, preliminary provisional data in p-chart format subject to revision.
Monthly aggregate percentage of VLBW infants receiving breastmilk for first full volume feed, preliminary provisional data in p-chart format subject to revision.
Monthly aggregate percentage of VLBW infants receiving breastmilk for feedings at NICU discharge, preliminary provisional data in p-chart format subject to revision.

Active Participating

Hospital Teams

  • Baptist Memorial Health Care
  • Children’s Hospital at Erlanger
  • East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
  • Gateway Medical Center
  • Holston Valley Medical Center
  • Jackson-Madison County General Hospital
  • Johnson City Medical Center
  • Maury Regional Medical Center
  • Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
  • Nashville General Hospital at Meharry
  • Parkridge East Hospital
  • Physicians Regional Medical Center
  • Regional One Health
  • Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
  • Saint Thomas – Midtown Hospital
  • TriStar Centennial Medical Center
  • The University of Tennessee Medical Center

State Leaders

Reddy Dhanireddy, MD a neonatologist from Regional One Health, the Sheldon B Korones Professor and Chief, Neonatology, Professor, Pediatrics and OB/GYN, University of Tennessee Health Science Center along with Stephen McElroy, MD a neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt led this NICU project. 

Get

Involved.

TIPQC is actively recruiting devoted health care professionals, community leaders and patient and family partners to further our mission of improving health outcomes for mothers and babies in Tennessee.

Learn How