“Human milk, specifically milk from an infant’s own mother (mothers’ own milk [MOM]), improves short- and long-term outcomes for all infants, leading to recommendations by the
World Health Organization (2018) and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding (2012) that infants be fed exclusive MOM until 6 months of age. MOM has particular benefits for infants born preterm, and likely also improves outcomes for other infants who require admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), including those requiring neonatal surgery for congenital gastrointestinal anomalies.
Although mothers of ill infants admitted to a NICU ideally would provide MOM during the NICU hospitalization and beyond discharge, pump dependency for lactation initiation and
maintenance, maternal-infant separation, and other risk factors including preterm birth, and the associated maternal health conditions like pre-eclampsia, can affect MOM volumes and therefore continued MOM provision.”

Hoban, R., McLean, L., Sullivan, S., & Currie, C. (2022). Proactive lactation care is associated with improved outcomes in a referral NICU. Journal of Human lactation, 38(1), 148-155.

Scholten, N., Fitzgerald, A., Matthias, K., Okumu, M. R., Ohnhäuser, T., Schmitz, K., … & Neo-MILK. (2023). Structured lactation support and human donor milk for German NICUs—Protocol on an intervention design based on a multidimensional status quo and needs assessment (Neo-MILK). PLoS One, 18(4), e0284621.

Blatz, M. A., Huston, A. J., & Anthony, M. K. (2020). Influence of NICU nurse education on intention to support lactation using tailored techniques: a pilot study. Advances in Neonatal Care, 20(4), 314-323.

Dymek, N. G., Jaschke, J., Stirner, A. K., Schwab, I., Ohnhäuser, T., Wiesen, D., … & Neo-MILK Consortium. (2025). Structured lactation support for mothers of very low birthweight preterm infants and establishment of human donor milk banks in German NICUs (Neo-MILK): protocol for a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation cluster-randomised controlled trial. BMJ open, 15(2), e084746.

Barin, J., Touati, J., Martin, A., Fletgen Richard, C., Jox, R. J., Fontana, S., … & Fischer Fumeaux, C. J. (2025). Bridging the milk gap: integrating a human milk bank–Blood bank model to reinforce lactation support and neonatal care. Nutrients, 17(11), 1765.

Schwab, I., Ohnhaeuser, T., Rothe, R. L., Dresbach, T., Schmitz, K., Tutzer, N., … & Neo-Milk. (2025). The Neo-MILK Web App as a Health Technology to Support Mothers of Preterm and Sick Neonates During Lactation: Usability Study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 8, e69079.