I think there are some confusions in this discussion. Some of us are describing supplementation occurring at the breast via a supplementer like the Medela SNS or the Lact-Aide. It's a tube that is taped to the breast that is connected to a bottle or bag with formula in it. As the baby sucks at your breast, he stimulates you to make milk, but receives breastmilk or formula without having to work hard for a let-down. It's got the benefits of both breastfeeding and bottle feeding for a child that is too weak to eat for long.
THAT is what I wanted to do with my son in the NICU. I never would have refused to let them take him. He really did have trouble breathing those first few hours, and was tired after that. He also ended up pretty jaundiced, so he needed treatment for that too. He was never on the GI tube that went directly to the stomach. I never protested formula because I had low supply and always did, despite doing everything Dr. Newman, LLLi, Kellymom, and 2 IBCLCs said to do. I just wanted the feedings to occur in a way that would best preserve the breastfeeding relationship, and that was denied. I would have even been happy with a finger feeding. We went through 4 months of hell to try to overcome the nipple confusion because my baby was still sick and needed all the bm he could get. I don't want to repeat this with our future children.
Even the American Heart Association recommends that heart babies be fed at the breast because oxygen levels are higher when a baby breastfeeds rather than bottle feeding. I was told that breastfeeding burns too many calories, but then they'd give him a pacifier and he'd suck while not receiving any nutritional support then.
My problem wasn't with the nurses. My battle was with the neonatalogists. Once my son was taking bottles for an entire day without a problem, I confronted him and told him I wanted to breastfeed. He told me it was up to the nurse on when I could start!!! So, there was no medical reasoning behind it. However, the neonatologists are held high in the community because they save so many babies lives. I felt I had no recourse for standing up for what I knew was best for my child.....to feed at the breast, and to do kangaroo care. They think breastfeeding advocates are crazy and care more about breastfeeding than the life of the child, so they won't listen at all.
How do you go about challenging such a system when your child is sick and you have no control over what happens to him? These doctors won't accept any research that was funded by LLLi.
THAT is what I wanted to do with my son in the NICU. I never would have refused to let them take him. He really did have trouble breathing those first few hours, and was tired after that. He also ended up pretty jaundiced, so he needed treatment for that too. He was never on the GI tube that went directly to the stomach. I never protested formula because I had low supply and always did, despite doing everything Dr. Newman, LLLi, Kellymom, and 2 IBCLCs said to do. I just wanted the feedings to occur in a way that would best preserve the breastfeeding relationship, and that was denied. I would have even been happy with a finger feeding. We went through 4 months of hell to try to overcome the nipple confusion because my baby was still sick and needed all the bm he could get. I don't want to repeat this with our future children.
Even the American Heart Association recommends that heart babies be fed at the breast because oxygen levels are higher when a baby breastfeeds rather than bottle feeding. I was told that breastfeeding burns too many calories, but then they'd give him a pacifier and he'd suck while not receiving any nutritional support then.
My problem wasn't with the nurses. My battle was with the neonatalogists. Once my son was taking bottles for an entire day without a problem, I confronted him and told him I wanted to breastfeed. He told me it was up to the nurse on when I could start!!! So, there was no medical reasoning behind it. However, the neonatologists are held high in the community because they save so many babies lives. I felt I had no recourse for standing up for what I knew was best for my child.....to feed at the breast, and to do kangaroo care. They think breastfeeding advocates are crazy and care more about breastfeeding than the life of the child, so they won't listen at all.
How do you go about challenging such a system when your child is sick and you have no control over what happens to him? These doctors won't accept any research that was funded by LLLi.
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For a preterm baby, breastmilk is medicine. In fact, the current research shows that all preterm babies should be fed breastmilk (unless a medical condition exists precluding it), preferably their mother's own milk (even if they don't choose to breastfeed directly or after discharge from the NICU). If their mother's own milk isn't available, donor milk is the preferred choice over preterm formula. Of course, some low VLBW preterm babies may require additional nutrients which could be provided by fortifier (or in some cases, with their mother's own hindmilk).
: The best thing I could suggest would be if you knew there was a chance you would deliver preterm, to do your research before hand, ask questions and know what to expect of the NICU environment and people before you get there, and have available information to share when you're confonfronted with an issue where there is disagreement between the Neonatologist/Nurse/Parents. If you're in that situation after the fact, find someone to advocate for you. After you leave the hospital, assure that the staff is given current information and urge the hospital to make changes in order to practice with current, evidence-based methods. The best way to do that is to contact the hospital CEO, department heads, etc. This organization might be able to help you advocate for your baby: 
