I have been asked by my colleagues to see how many NICUs and Newborn Nurseries are syringe feeding their near term or term infants. We have been having nursing mothers who have been discharged home but their infant remains hospitalized either in the NICU or Newborn Nursery and syringe feeding has been suggested by our Lactation staff. These mothers request that their infant have no pacifier or be fed by bottle. Instead they request their infant receive either EBM or formula only via syringe feeding. This can be very time consuming and at times frustrating when an infant does not like feeding via syringe.
Does anyone have good evidence based research that states this is a safe procedure, and any research that shows that it has a positive effect on near term or term newborns toward preventing a nipple confusion problem?
I would appreciate everyone's view on this idea and any opinions (positive or negative on syringe feeding) and any suggestions to help the staff toward having the infant be more receptive to syringe feeding.
PremieOne