In English

Knowledge Centre for Breastfeeding Infants with Special Needs
The Knowledge Centre gathers and systematizes knowledge and experiences on breastfeeding infants with special needs both at Rigshospitalet as well as nationally and internationally, and makes the knowledge accessible for health professionals.
In cooperation with the neonatal and pediatric wards the Knowledge Centre is developing practice and new knowledge in Rigshospitalet that care, treatment and counselling, in relation to breastfeeding infants with special needs, will be uniform, evidence based and off high quality.

There are many reasons for breastfeeding a baby, even a baby who has special needs in relation to breastfeeding: Human milk is the optimal nutrition the first 6 months of life – ill babies do also need human milk. Breastfed infants are less ill (Nielsen 2002), and a Danish study found positive associations between the duration of infant breastfeeding and intelligence in young adulthood (Mortensen 2003).
Premature infants are more physiological stable during breastfeeding than bottle feeding (Meier 1988) and they need the unique components in human milk.

 "The Milky Way" explains the breastfeeding process for premature infants. Illustrated with fotos in Mælkevejen.

Ragnhild Maastrup is participating at VELB & ILCA Conference, Basel Switzerland 21.-23.10.2010 as invited speaker.
"Optimizing breastfeeding for infants with limited physical capacity": Reference list.

 Posters presented at International Conferences
2008: “Establishing a Knowledge Centre for Breastfeeding Infants with Special Needs”
"008: “Breastfeeding Premature Infants Depend Considerably on Maternal Milk Supply”
2008: ”Extremely premature infants reactions to skin-to-skin contact”
2008: ”Information to parents about skin-to-skin contact in the NICU” 

ragnhild.maastrup@rh.regionh.dk