Updated September 10, 2020 We are proud to present the latest edition of the Fed is Best Guide to Safe Infant Feeding. The new step-by-step guide has information on how to safely feed infants regardless of how you plan to feed them, whether exclusive breastfeeding, supplemented breastfeeding, or exclusive formula-feeding. Included in the plan are helpful … Continue reading Fed is Best Feeding Plan – Updated 2020

Our very own Co-Founder, Jody Segrave-Daly, was invited by the New York Times to write a safe, evidence-based, balanced guide to breastfeeding for their new New York Times Parenting page. Here is her amazing guide to breastfeeding the first two weeks of life.

The following is a tool to help calculate your infant’s daily milk requirement to maintain their body weight plus what they need for growth, whether they are fed breast milk, formula or both. The calculator uses the daily energy requirement of infants published by the  Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization/ United Nations University (FAO/WHO/UNU) upon which … Continue reading Daily Milk Calculator for Infants – How Much Breast Milk and/or Formula Does My Baby Need?

One of the most important skills to learn to keep a breastfed baby well-fed is a good breastfeeding latch. Stanford Medicine has an excellent series of videos and instructional pages on achieving a good latch.  It is particularly important for first-time breastfeeding mothers to get a good idea of how a newborn baby is taught … Continue reading Basics of a Good Breastfeeding Latch from Stanford Medicine

This is a very useful instructional video on hand expression of breast milk presented by Stanford Medicine.  Hand expression can be used to confirm the present of colostrum before the first breastfeeding session and at every session thereafter.  It can be done while nursing to help moms empty their breasts of colostrum/milk and to help … Continue reading Manual Expression of Breast Milk Video Instruction From Stanford Medicine

Mothers are taught that it is rare to have insufficient breast milk. But research shows delayed milk production affects at least 1 in 5 women in the first days of an infant’s life, which puts her child at risk of dehydration and underfeeding from exclusive breastfeeding. These complications can result in jaundice, low blood sugar, … Continue reading Know Your Risks for Delayed Onset of Full Breast Milk Supply

Here is an downloadable infographic on the risk factors that predict development of jaundice from underfeeding of breastfed newborns. Please feel free to download and print to take with you, to hand out to patients or to post in your health facility. We believe all babies deserve to be protected from hunger and thirst every … Continue reading Starvation Jaundice: Risk Factors and Prevention

Why weigh my baby in the first days of life? The most important information an exclusively breastfeeding mother must know is the percent weight loss of her child. In the first days of life, if your baby is fed only colostrum, they will often lose weight. The current guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) … Continue reading Fed is Best Weighing Protocol

What is it? “Newt is the first tool that allows pediatric healthcare providers and parents to [track] a newborn’s weight during the first days and weeks following childbirth compared with a large sample of newborns, which can help with early identification of weight loss and weight gain issues.” Ian M. Paul, M.D., M.Sc. Chief, Division … Continue reading Newborn Weight Loss Calculator and Infant Growth Chart Calculator

BiliTool is designed to help clinicians assess the risks toward the development of hyperbilirubinemia or “jaundice” in newborns over 35 weeks gestational age. Parents can also be informed of their newborn’s bilirubin “risk category” using this tool. Required values include the age of the child in hours (between 12-146 hours) and the total bilirubin in … Continue reading Bilirubin Monitoring using the BiliTool(TM)

Para leer en español, por favor vaya aquí. When our son was born, he weighed 6 pounds 5 oz., and we had issues with him latching from the start. Part of the problem was I had flat nipples, so the nurse gave us a shield and showed me how to use it, and he seemed … Continue reading Accidentally Starving My Baby Broke My Heart, But Made Me Want to Help Other Moms

In this video, Co-Founder Dr. Christie del Castillo-Hegyi narrates a presentation on newborn jaundice, and the importance of sufficient breastfeeding or supplementation in the treatment of jaundice: We believe all babies deserve to be protected from hunger and thirst every single day of their life and we believe that education on Safe Infant Feeding should … Continue reading Why Fed is Best for Newborn Jaundice: A Parent Guide

Here you’ll find a series of video presentations dedicated to educating clinicians and parents on various feeding-related complications. Please check back from time to time as we’ll be regularly updating this section with new topics! Why Fed is Best for newborn Jaundice: A Parent Guide Porqué  Alimentación es Mejor para la Ictericia del Recién Nacido … Continue reading Preventing Complications: Video Lecture Series

This video features Co-Founder Dr. Christie del Castillo-Hegyi narrating a presentation on how to ensure that your newborn is well-fed in the early days after birth:   We believe all babies deserve to be protected from hunger and thirst every single day of their life and we believe that education on Safe Infant Feeding should … Continue reading Making Sure Your Newborn is Fed: A Guide to Early Breastfeeding

Dr. Christie del Castillo-Hegyi was invited to present her research on the brain- and life-threatening consequences of insufficient feeding of exclusively breastfed newborns at the First Coast Neonatal Symposium held by the Department of Neonatology at the University of Florida at Jacksonville on April 24, 2017.  Here is the video of the lecture presented. Note: … Continue reading Dangers of Insufficient Exclusive Breastfeeding Presented at the First Coast Neonatal Symposium

Written by Jody Segrave-Daly, RN, IBCLC As a veteran NICU, nursery nurse, and lactation consultant, I have cared for and fed thousands of babies over the past 30 years. When working in the special care nursery, babies are fed according to their weight and cumulative losses to determine their caloric requirements for intake amounts and … Continue reading The Newborn Stomach Size Myth: It is NOT 5-7 mL

Complications related to underfeeding of exclusively breastfed newborns are the leading causes of newborn hospitalizations in the world. These complications include jaundice, hypoglycemia and dehydration, all conditions that are prevented with adequate and timely supplementation when breast milk is not enough. Every mother can protect her child from these complications by knowing the signs of … Continue reading Knowing if Your Newborn is HUNGRY and Needs Urgent Evaluation / Supplementation

Written by: Jody Segrave-Daly, MS, RN, IBCLC Cluster feeding is a phrase that is used to describe infant feeding behavior. Generally, it’s breastfeeding or bottle feeding that is in a different pattern from your baby’s typical feeding pattern. It is described as breastfeeding sessions or bottle-feeding sessions that are much shorter and more frequent, for 3-4 … Continue reading What is “Cluster Feeding” and Is It Normal?

Written by Jody Segrave-Daly, RN, MS, IBCLC As a NICU/nursery nurse and IBCLC who has worked with newborn babies her entire nursing career, I was mystified when I first heard the phrase “second night syndrome.” When I began to research where the phrase came from, it became clear that this phrase is not based on … Continue reading The Second Night Syndrome is Abnormal and This is Why

Complication of insufficient feeding in exclusively breastfed newborns, like hyperbilirubinemia and hypoglycemia are common. The early signs of those complications are frequent or constant crying and prolonged or unsatisfied nursing (where baby latches and unlatches in response to insufficient milk at the breast). These signs are also called the Second Night Syndrome, which put an infant … Continue reading Second Night Syndrome: How a Breastfed Baby Develops Complications

We proudly introduce the quick and easy guide to supplementing your breastfed newborn. This is our step-by-step guide for mothers who choose to supplement from the beginning and for those who are wanting to exclusively breastfeed but find that their newborn needs supplementation to prevent complications.  Here is our step-by-step guide to supplementing a newborn … Continue reading Fed is Best Guide to Supplementing Breastfed Newborns

Warning Signs of Breastfeeding Problems Natural as the breastfeeding process is, problems can occasionally arise. When they do surface, they may grow worse very quickly and interfere with your milk production or your baby’s ability to get the nutrition she needs. For this reason, it’s vital to get help right away if you experience difficulty … Continue reading From the American Academy of Pediatrics: Warning Signs of Breastfeeding Problems

Jody Segrave-Daly, RN, MS, IBCLC Mothers are taught that it’s rare to not produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed in nearly every breastfeeding book, mommy group and hospital breastfeeding class. The truth is, we have limited studies that provide an accurate percentage of the number of mothers who can produce enough milk for their baby … Continue reading Feeding Your Baby—When Supplementing Saves Breastfeeding and Saves Lives

FEEDING & NUTRITION How to Deal with Low Breastmilk Supply By Susan Reslewic Keatley THE GIST Before giving birth, find out if you are at risk for low milk supply. Learn what successful breastfeeding involves and find a skilled, supportive pediatrician. Baby weight checks are the best way to determine if you have low milk … Continue reading NYT Parenting: How to Deal with Low Breastmilk Supply

A supplemental feeding system, also known as a supplemental nursing system (SNS) is a simple device that provides a baby with breast milk or formula through a small tube that is attached to the breast with removable tape. It allows a mother to both breastfeed her baby while supplementing her milk.  This both supports sufficient … Continue reading How To Use A Supplemental Feeding System (Video)

Making sure a baby is fed enough calories and fluid to protect their brain and vital organs in the first days of life and beyond is one of our most important jobs as parents and health care providers. One alternative to bottle-feeding is finger-feeding, using a tube and syringe or supplemental feeding system.  This can be done in … Continue reading Finger Feeding to Supplement Newborns

Combination feeding is by far the most common form of infant feeding across the globe. Mothers combine breast and bottle feeding for many reasons including insufficient breast milk supply in addition to professional and personal reasons. For many mothers, it’s just what works best for them, their baby and their family. Here are several useful … Continue reading Combination-Feeding Articles and Resources

For many families in the world, when a mother cannot produce sufficient breast milk, her child is at risk of malnutrition and starvation. Even one episode of starvation can compromise a child’s vital organs and brain development irreversibly. The World Health Organization has prepared this guide on SAFE preparation of breast milk substitutes for families … Continue reading WHO Guide on Safe Preparation of Formula or Cow’s Milk for Infants

Written by Jody Segrave-Daly, MS, RN, IBCLC Great question! Educational resources that parents have access to often give them mixed messages about safe formula preparation.  To answer the many questions we receive, we developed an up-to-date evidence-based resource guide for parents about safe formula feeding. We start with water sources available to parents in the … Continue reading What Kind Of Water Is Safe For Mixing Formula Powder For My Baby?

Formula-feeding and combination-feeding mothers often find it difficult to find supportive, judgment-free advice on formula feeding . The following articles are excellent articles from pediatrician, Dr. Chad Hayes and the American Academy of Pediatrics. We believe all babies deserve to be protected from hunger and thirst every single day of their life and we believe … Continue reading Guide to Formula Feeding by Dr. Chad Hayes and the American Academy Of Pediatrics

Written by Jody Segrave-Daly, RN, IBCLC, The Momivist & Co-Founder of The Fed Is Best Foundation What is power pumping? Power pumping refers to when a breastfeeding mother uses a breast pump to remove as much breast milk as she can in rapid (concentrated) intervals, in an attempt to stimulate her milk supply. The theory … Continue reading Power Pumping to Promote Breast Milk Production

    We want to warn mothers about a very rare and completely preventable danger to newborn babies, namely Sudden Unexpected Postnatal Collapse (SUPC), which is when a newborn is accidentally suffocated during skin-to-skin or breastfeeding within the first weeks of life, even while still in the hospital. It occurs due to poor positioning of … Continue reading Safe Positioning During Skin-to-Skin and Breastfeeding

In order to provide mothers and health professional a quick guide to preventing newborn brain injury in the first days of life, the following is a short slideshow on the scientific literature regarding the thresholds that predict newborn brain injury and developmental delay and disability in the first days of life related to insufficient feeding. … Continue reading Keeping Your Baby Safe by Knowing Normal vs. Abnormal Labs

Mothers have reported feeling unprepared for their birth and postpartum experiences and that their newborns experienced complications from underfeeding due to excessive pressure to exclusively breastfeed.  It is important to know your health providers, their perspectives on infant feeding, supplementation and keeping your baby safe from complications and hospitalization.  These are a list of questions … Continue reading Questions to Ask Your Health Providers to See if They Believe That Fed is Best

Every year, thousands of infants in every country are hospitalized for complications due to underfeeding from exclusive breastfeeding including dehydration, hypoglycemia and excessive jaundice. Many families leave these experiences traumatized and some babies are irreversibly injured. The only way hospitals and health organizations responsible for patient safety know to make their infant feeding policies safer is … Continue reading Writing Your Hospital and the Joint Commission About Your Baby’s Feeding Complications

BY JODY SEGRAVE-DALY, RN, IBCLC, CO-FOUNDER OF THE FED IS BEST FOUNDATION During an emergency the sudden disruption of electrical power, clean water, and social relief services can impact the safe acquisition and storage of formula or human milk, as well as the ability to heat water for optimal cleaning practices. Consider the options below … Continue reading Infant Feeding Considerations for Emergency Situations

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