Nurses' Views about the Use of Pasteurized Donor Breast Milk for Feeding Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit who can't get breast milk from their mothers would greatly benefit from the use of pasteurized donor breast milk. The use of breast milk decreases the risks for necrotizing enterocolitis, feeding intolerance, late onset sepsis, and allergies in these vulnerable babies. It is well known that breast milk provides immunological benefits to all newborns as well as cardiovascular benefits later in life. However, many sick infants, cannot get donor breast milk because the neonatal intensive care units where they received care do not access pasteurized donor breast milk even though the use of donor breast milk is supported by the World Health Organization and United Children's Fund. The reluctance to provide donor breast milk may be due to a fear of HIV/AIDS that first arose in the 1980's, stopping the beginning practice of supplying donor breast milk. The safety of donor breast milk has changed considerably in the recent decades. The Human Milk Banking Association of North America plays an important role in providing a safe pasteurized donor breast milk as a nutritional supplemental for infants in neonatal intensive care settings across the globe following through strict guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration and Center for Disease and Control. There is limited information in the literature on healthcare workers' opinions on pasteurized donor breast milk. This project examines nurses' professional opinions on the use of pasteurized donor breast milk in hopes that understanding these beliefs can provide information that helps overcome barriers to the administration of donor breast milk to sick infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.