Mother's own milk dose is associated with decreased time from initiation of feedings to discharge and length of stay in infants with gastroschisis.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if mother's own milk (MOM) dose after gastroschisis repair is associated with time from feeding initiation to discharge. Secondary outcomes included parenteral nutrition (PN) duration and length of stay (LOS).

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective study of 44 infants with gastroschisis examined demographics, gastroschisis type, PN days, timing of nutrition milestones, feeding composition, and LOS.

RESULTS

MOM dose was significantly associated with shorter time to discharge from feeding initiation (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] for discharge per 10% increase in MOM dose, 1.111; 95% CI, 1.011-1.220, p = 0.029). MOM dose was also significantly associated with shorter LOS (adjusted HR for discharge per 10% increase in MOM dose, 1.130; 95% CI, 1.028-1.242, p = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONS

MOM dose was significantly associated with a decrease in time to discharge from feeding initiation and LOS in a dose-dependent manner. Mothers of gastroschisis patients should receive education and proactive lactation support to optimize MOM volume for feedings.