SteriFeed Milk Safe Box

20-11-2020 | Posted in General News

Sterifeed MilkSafe, Putting Parents In Control Of Securely Storing Their Expressed Breastmilk

Integrating Family Centred Care into the care plan of newborn babies is becoming a very important element in the overall care provision of babies on the neonatal unit. One integral part of this is the ability of the parents to be heavily involved in feeding their baby.

Currently the majority of hospital maternity and neonatal wards use a lockable fridge to store mothers expressed breast milk or special feeds. These fridges are generally locked or within a locked room with access only for staff members so that the milk is protected from both potential milk misadministration and tampering.

 

To allow the parents greater involvement in the feeding of their baby they need access to the communal fridges to place the expressed breastmilk and then to retrieve it when a feed is required. The locked door policy restricts this access and restricts the effect of an Integrated Family Centred Care Plan. The Sterifeed MilkSafe offers the security of individual clear storage boxes with combination lock which then only permits access to the parents and staff allowing the parents complete involvement in the preparation and administration of their infants’ feeds safe in the knowledge that no one else can access it. The combination can be chosen and set by parents and noted by staff completely limiting access and in the event of the combination being forgotten there is an override key to allow instant access.

Being able to see the milk inside the box is incredibly useful to parents. Common practice on wards is for mums to pass their expressed breastmilk to staff to be securely locked in the fridges but of course this means the parents often have little knowledge of how much milk they have available for their baby. Giving them access to the fridge allows them to take control of this and discuss the options with healthcare professionals so that they are fully involved in the feeding element of the care plan.

The Milksafe Box comes in two sizes to cater for most fridge types. MSB001 will hold 3 bottles and MSB002 will hold up to 8 bottles. The boxes are compact, easy to wipe clean, manufactured from clear plastic and both sizes come with changeable combination locks allowing parents to have different secure codes which only they and the staff will have access to. Coupled with a master key this allows only the parents and staff access to the mother’s milk. Family Integrated Care invites parents in to become part of the primary care team, moving away from traditional care delivery by only highly trained healthcare professionals. Being able to access their milk and feed their baby provides a more natural landscape for the parents to nurture their baby especially when integrated with other practices to bring the parents further into the care setting rather than being reliant on the ward staff.

Educating and engaging parents with the care of their baby can reduce their anxiety, improve experience and bonding and is a model that supports and educates parents to become integral participants in their baby’s care from the time of admission to the neonatal unit in partnership with the neonatal team. Preliminary research suggests that infants admitted to the NICU and cared for under the Family Integrated Care model grow faster and have less stress, spend fewer days in the NICU, and are less likely to be readmitted to hospital after discharge, compared to infants cared for primarily by staff. These infants are also more likely to be breastfed and for a longer time, which provides a host of long-term health benefits.

The improved confidence and skills of parents in Family Integrated Care increases parental readiness for the transition from hospital to home, improves management abilities at home, and lowers parental anxiety. Finally, parental involvement helps staff feel more confident in the abilities of the parent, which will help facilitate getting everyone home as soon as possible. The Sterifeed portfolio of products include, Colostrum Collection Devices, Breastpump Collection Sets, Bottles, Teats and with the introduction of MilkSafe we offer a comprehensive range to provide many of the tools needed to help parents become more involved in the direct care of their baby.

 

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