Understanding the Current Guidelines for Preparing Pediatric and Newborn Feedings in Health Facilities

Caroline Steele, MS, RD, IBCLC, summarizes the newest guidelines and recommendations to ensure safe human milk and infant formula storage, handling, and preparation. She outlines potential failure points that can lead to formula and breast milk mishandling and misadministration, and highlights best practices—such as centralized handling and bar code scanning—to reduce the risk of contamination and feeding administration errors. The detailed guidelines can be utilized to guide quality improvement for safe feeding practices for vulnerable neonatal and pediatric patients.

Ms. Steele is an expert on pediatric nutrition and lactation, and is coeditor of the third edition of Infant and Pediatric Feedings: Guidelines for Preparation of Human Milk and Formula in Health Care Facilities.

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  Caroline Steele, MS, RD, IBCLC

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  Caroline Steele, MS, RD, IBCLC, is an expert on breastfeeding, formula, and infant and pediatric nutrition, particularly the handling of human milk and formula within the hospital setting. She is a registered dietitian with 30 years of experience, a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), as well as a California Children's Services (CCS) Paneled Dietitian. Ms. Steele has worked in a number of settings, including her current position as a clinical consultant for Timeless Medical Systems and her former position as director of Clinical Nutrition and Lactation Services at Children's Hospital of Orange County, California, for 12 years.

  Ms. Steele is the author and editor of a textbook on infant and pediatric feeding that provides guidelines for the preparation of human milk and formula in healthcare facilities and has authored 11 peer reviewed journal articles on this topic. She is also a contributor and a reviewer for numerous professional journals and consumer publications. Her expertise has been recognized with awards from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, the Children's Hospital Association, the American Society for Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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  Caroline Steele, MS, RD, IBCLC

  Clinical Consultant
  Timeless Medical Systems