Survey of neonatal ICU nurses’ knowledge of neonatal nutrition in Japan

Abstract Advances have been made recently in neonatal nutrition in Japan, including a new donor human milk bank. However, little is known about the knowledge level of neonatal nutrition, donor human milk banks, and human milk fortifiers among Neonatal ICU (NICU) nurses. An anonymous survey was administered during an educational program to assess general knowledge. The overall response rate was 87.6% (219/250). About 60% reported working in the NICU for 1–5 years, and 42% reported that their NICU admitted more than 30 very low birth weight infants per year. Two-thirds (66.4%) acknowledged the existence of the new donor human milk bank. About half (46%) of NICU nurses incorrectly believed that the human milk fortifier available in Japan was derived from human milk rather than cow's milk. It would be beneficial to provide more education to NICU nurses on neonatal nutrition, donor human milk, milk banks, and the use of human milk fortifiers, both cow's milk-based and human milk-based.