Breastfed or bottle-fed: who goes home sooner?

A literature search was conducted to answer the clinical question, "Do premature infants who breastfeed have different oral feeding outcomes compared with those who receive bottles?" The CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycInfo databases were queried for articles published in the past 10 years that reported original research available in English. Two studies specifically addressed a comparison between infants who received exclusive direct breastfeeding, mixed direct breast and bottle, and/or exclusive bottle-feeding. Additional studies were included that addressed oral feeding outcomes specific to either direct breastfeeding (n = 2) or those that grouped bottle and breastfeeding together (n = 3). The findings from these studies indicate that the statement that bottle-feeding leads to sooner discharge is not based in evidence. Although more data are needed to fully understand the differences between direct breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, neonatal intensive care unit staff should be aware of the message they send to breastfeeding families when they encourage the use of bottles over direct breastfeeding.