{
  "abstract": "Background: Feeding practices in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are often compromised by limited lactation support and mother-infant separation. A Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre (CLMC) integrates counselling, bedside lactation assistance and donor human milk banking within the NICU. Evidence on the real-world operationalisation of such centres in tertiary care institutions in India remains limited. This study describes the operationalisation of a CLMC in a tertiary NICU and evaluates its effect on exclusive breastfeeding and structured counselling coverage through a before-after comparison.\n\nMethodology: This retrospective implementation study was conducted in the NICU and CLMC of a public-sector tertiary centre with 4,200-4,500 deliveries annually. Baseline feeding and counselling practices (April-June 2024) were compared with those in the post-implementation period (July 2024-July 2025). Core components included structured lactation counselling, bedside milk expression support, a functional donor human milk pathway, daily multidisciplinary rounds and WhatsApp-based coordination. Feeding and counselling indicators during the baseline and post-implementation periods, monthly operational trends and donor profiles were analysed.\n\nResults: The proportion of mothers receiving structured breastfeeding counselling rose from 87/353 (25%) to 1,613/1,841 (88%). Exclusive breastfeeding at discharge increased from 25/56 (45%) to 436/534 (82%). Over the implementation period, 541 neonates received pasteurised donor human milk (PDHM), and the peak monthly donation volume reached 30,009 ml. Early initiation of milk expression, together with hands-on demonstration and lactation counselling, appeared to drive the change. Mother-infant separation and perceived low milk supply remained persistent barriers.\n\nConclusions: CLMC establishment was associated with improved exclusive breastfeeding and structured breastfeeding counselling coverage. As a retrospective analysis, these findings reflect associations rather than causal effects. Sustaining these gains requires ongoing lactation support and system-level coordination.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Pediatrics/Neonatology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, IND",
    "Pediatrics, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, IND",
    "Public Health Research, Community Empowerment Lab (CEL), Varanasi, IND",
    "Pediatrics and Child Health, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, IND",
    "Pediatrics, Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences, Varanasi, IND"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anu Sharma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Aishwarya Kashyap"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Vaishnavi Pandey"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Alok Kumar Singh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Muskan Sharma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ashok Kumar"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/79n90jhke7q9h.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.7759/cureus.118825",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13721027/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "79n90jhke7q9h",
  "issns": [
    "2168-8184"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13721027",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Health Policy"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Nutrition"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Pediatrics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Breastfeeding Practices and Influences"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224734818",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13721027/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13721027",
  "pmid": "42965027",
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "Cureus Inc.",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/79n90jhke7q9h.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:37Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13721027",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13721027"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T12:21:47Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13721027",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.118825"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Nutrition",
      "subfield": "nutrition"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Pediatrics",
      "subfield": "reproductive-child"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Operationalising a Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre in a Tertiary NICU in North India: A Retrospective Implementation Study With Before-After Comparison of Breastfeeding and Counselling Coverage",
  "title_text": "Operationalising a Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre in a Tertiary NICU in North India: A Retrospective Implementation Study With Before-After Comparison of Breastfeeding and Counselling Coverage",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T12:21:47Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/79n90jhke7q9h",
  "venue": "Cureus",
  "versions": []
}