Cup, syringe and finger feedings - BFHI

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Hi -- Looking for policies on providing cup, syringe or finger feedings. Because of the move toward Baby Friendly Hospital status change is in the air.

Are any of you in a "Baby Friendly" hospital and how has that changed your practice in the NICU?

Thanks for any feedback! We (the nurses) are NOT at all sure about this -- seems like the BFHI applies to WELL babies and NOT NICU babies... but changes are still being discussed.

Thanks!!

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Specializes in NICU.

NICU babies? *throw up*

I would refuse...probably be putting my license at risk because if that 34 weeker aspirates and codes, somehow I don't think I would be saved by anyone.

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Even if there were no risk of aspiration - this policy is not well suited for the NICU. The baby-friendly should apply to mother-babies only. The NICU moms are not in house to breastfeed around the clock, which is ideal. I can't even imagine trying to get these preemies to gain well on cup, syringe, or finger feeding!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

We are not allowed to cup or syringe feed anymore, too high risk of aspiration in the preemies. Our well nursery will not do either also due to the risk since we got 2 kids a few years back that had aspirated (our legal put the kabash on that practice). We will fingerfeed as the baby is sucking and we can control how much goes in and we know it is going down since they are sucking on our finger.

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Thanks for the input -- I agree that while the heart of the Baby Friendly designation is admirable -- the complete implementation in a NICU is complicated at best and some might say simply inappropriate. We have concerns about aspiration and the learning curve for the staff. Does anyone have policies they could share? (even if the policy states NO cup or syringe feedings? --- that would actually be helpful as well!!!) Thanks

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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

I work at a baby-friendly hospital and we do not cup feed in the NICU. I feel sure we have policies on this but I am not at work and honestly since they put it all on computer I have yet to learn how to access them (I recognize this is a huge problem).

I found this study a few years ago and this may help your hospital see that cup feeding may be okay for healthy term infants, but completely inappropriate for compromised sick/premature infants.

Cup Feeding Not Recommended As A Method Of Supplementation In Breast-feeding Infants

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Specializes in NICU.

We don't cup, syringe or finger feed in our NICU. You don't learn anything about a baby, maybe he's not breast feeding because he's sick? That happened to us, we had the educator showing us how well cup feeding worked, but when she tried to demonstrate he didn't co-operate. For good reason, which we found out the next day. Good job he wasn't sent home!

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Specializes in NICU.

We are starting the baby frienly initiative as well. We don't use any of it in the NICU. It's only in well babies. Our neo isn't real happy with cup and syringe feeding in the nursery, she's concerned with the aspiration risk.

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.

Thankfully (in this case) we're way behind the times in my unit and most of us have never even heard of any of this lets-aspirate-those-babies-in-the-name-of-baby-friendliness nonsense.

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This is not a new thing...We tried cup feeding in 1998 in my NI unit... Thankfully the docs revolted because the nurses were going to... This is the most ridiculous thing I've seen tried in my 16 yrs...

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