Early pumping frequency and coming to volume for mother’s own milk feeding in hospitalized infants

Objective To identify daily pumping frequencies associated with coming to volume (CTV: producing > 500 milliliters of milk per day by postnatal day 14) for mothers of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Study design We compared demographics and daily pumping frequencies for mothers who did and did not experience CTV. Results Of 427 mothers who produced milk, 201 (50.1%) experienced CTV. Race, insurance, delivery type and birthweight were associated with CTV. For mothers who experienced CTV, average pumping episodes increased daily, stabilizing at 5 pumping episodes per day by postnatal day 5 (5 × 5). Women who experienced CTV were also more likely to have pumped between 0100 and 0500 (AM pumping). In multivariable analysis birthweight, 5 × 5 and AM pumping were each independently associated with CTV. Conclusion Supporting mothers of NICU infants to achieve 5 or more daily pumping sessions by postnatal day 5 could improve likelihood of achieving CTV.