Associations Between Single-Family Room Care and Breastfeeding Rates in Preterm Infants

Abstract

Background: Hospitalization in neonatal intensive care units with a single-family room design enables continuous maternal presence, but less is known regarding the association with milk production and breastfeeding. Research aim: To compare maternal milk production, breastfeeding self-efficacy, the extent to which infants received mother’s milk, and rate of direct breastfeeding in a single-family room to an open bay neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: A longitudinal, prospective observational study comparing 77 infants born at 28– 32° weeks gestational age and their 66 mothers (n = 35 infants of n = 30 mothers in single family room and n = 42 infants of n = 36 mothers in open bay). Comparisons were made on milk volume produced, the extent to which infants were fed mother’s milk, and rate of direct breastfeeding from birth to 4 months’ corrected infant age. Breastfeeding self-efficacy was compared across mothers who directly breastfed at discharge (n = 45). Results: First expression (6 hr vs. 30 hr, p