Work

Breastfeeding Continuation at 6 Months among Mother-Infant Dyads Participating in the Postpartum Care in the NICU (PeliCaN) Pilot Trial

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Mother’s milk is the optimal nutrition for preterm infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) [ 1 ]. Provision of mother’s milk is associated with infant health benefits, including reduced risk of sudden unexpected infant death syndrome and improving neurodevelopmental outcomes [ 2 , 3 ]. Lactation also has maternal health benefits, particularly for cardiometabolic health and reducing breast cancer risk [ 3 ]. Public policy efforts have increased awareness of the importance of mother’s milk, and improved lactation services and insurance coverage for breast pumps. Quality improvement projects have led to increases in mother’s milk provision among very low birth weight (VLBW; ≤1500 g) infants at NICU discharge from 44% in 2008 to 52% in 2017 [ 1 ]. However, most infants do not meet the public health goal of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, and stark racial disparities in long-term lactation persist. Nationwide data from the Vermont Oxford Network showed that 34.4% of Black infants continued to receive mother’s milk at discharge compared to 56.1% of White infants [ 1 ]. Improving breastfeeding through 6 months could mitigate gaps in health outcomes.

Source: Journal of Perinatology

DOI: 10.1038/s41372-026-02616-x