Almost Half of Very Preterm Infants Were Breastfed at Term Age When Discharged From Home‐Based Neonatal Care Following Intensive Care

AIM: To describe breastfeeding practices and outcomes, after discharge and enrolment in neonatal home care, among preterm infants with a gestational age (GA) of less than 32 weeks. METHOD: A cross-sectional single-centre cohort study of all preterm infants enrolled in neonatal home care in 2020-2024. De-identified data obtained from medical records were analysed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: During the 5-year period, a total of 154 preterm infants (median GA 29 + 5 weeks; birth weight 1318 g) were discharged and included in the analyses. The infants were discharged and enrolled in neonatal home care at a median postmenstrual age of 34 + 6 weeks, when a majority (82%) had initiated breastfeeding, and a feeding tube was still in place (81%). Neonatal home care was concluded until a median postmenstrual age of 39 + 1 weeks, at which point 41% were exclusively breastfed, 26% partially breastfed, and 33% exclusively fed by bottle. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of very preterm infants, the transition from nasogastric feeding tube to oral feeds was feasible during neonatal home care after hospital discharge and resulted in almost half of the infants being exclusively breastfed at term.