When your baby needs extra care in the NICU, feeding might feel different from what you expected. We are here to support you and help you stay close to your baby.
Breastmilk is so much more than nutrition for sick and preterm babies. It provides vital antibodies, supports gut development and reduces the risk of infection.
Support for you
We have a dedicated Infant Feeding Team supporting families through every step of their feeding journey.
Our team of specialist staff are available Monday to Friday. We offer twice-weekly drop-in sessions to provide a warm, welcoming space for parents to ask questions, share experiences, and feel supported.
- Cake and chat
Join us for ‘cake and chat’ sessions on the unit on Thursday. A relaxed chance to meet other parents, ask questions and have some support.
- Meal vouchers
If you are expressing your breastmilk or breastfeeding your baby who is on the NICU, you may be eligible for a meal voucher everyday. Mothers who are staying on onsite accommodation with full kitchen and dinning facilities are excluded. If you are still an inpatient in the hospital, then you will be given a meal on your ward. You can use them at the wellspring’s restaurant in the main hospital concourse.
Expressing your milk
Breastmilk is especially important for babies in the NICU. It gives them extra protection and helps them to grow.
We encourage you to start expressing as soon as possible, ideally within the first couple of hours after your baby is born. if this is not possible, we will support you as soon as you are able.
You can:
- Hand express your colostrum
- Use a breastpump alongside hand expressing to help establish your supply.
We can help you learn how to express and check your pump fits. We will complete expressing assessments to review how expressing is going with you and you can find more information on the Unicef Expression Assessment Form (opens in a new tab).
The neonatal unit has double pumps that you can use to express at the cot side, there are also double pumps on the maternity wards. The neonatal team also have the use of loan breastpumps to ensure you can continue to express once discharged home whilst baby is still on NICU.
Find more information on our expressing breastmilk page.
Bonding squares
We will give you three small knitted squares called bonding squares. You keep one with you (close to your skin or inside your top), one for dad or partner and the other stays with your baby. After a few hours, you swap the squares.
This helps your baby smell you and feel close, even when you can’t always hold them. It can also help with your milk supply.