Introduction
Welcome to the Empowering NICU Parents’ Podcast!
Welcome to this episode of the Empowering NICU Parents Podcast! For our 72nd episode, I was thrilled to be joined by two incredible guests—Elisa Doherty and Lisa Kleinz.
Elisa Doherty is a licensed and registered occupational therapist, Certified Neonatal Therapist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and Small Baby Care Specialist, with over twenty years of experience in infant care. She serves as the Infant Team Clinical Coordinator and is the visionary behind the Infant Feeding Clinic at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Elisa recognized a common gap in care—where so many families leave the hospital only to face the critical first few months navigating feeding challenges on their own. Her clinic was created to bridge that gap, providing guidance, education, and encouragement to help families achieve long-term feeding success. As Elisa says, the habituation of feeding development is her jam, and she thoroughly enjoys helping infants and their parents thrive together.
We are also thrilled to welcome Lisa Kleinz back to the podcast! Lisa is a Speech Pathologist, Developmental Care Specialist, Certified Lactation Specialist, and Certified Neonatal Therapist, with additional certifications in NIDCAP, Developmental Care Designation (NANN), and Infant Massage Instruction. She is the Director of Education at Dr. Brown’s Medical, where she creates and delivers educational and developmental care-focused resources to their team and healthcare professionals in the field of infant feeding. In her role, Lisa leads efforts to improve infant feeding practices through evidence-based education, drawing on decades of NICU experience with a focus on supporting developmental care and fostering positive, family-centered feeding experiences. As I’ve mentioned before, Lisa and I go way back—she was a former colleague who taught me countless clinical pearls on developmental care and infant feeding during my early days as a NICU nurse, lessons I still carry with me today—so we’re thrilled to have her back on the podcast.
In honor of National Breastfeeding Month, today’s episode dives into the critical role of infant feeding. We explore what inspired Elisa to create the Infant Feeding Clinic and how she and her team help bridge the gap between hospital discharge and those first formative months when families need extra support. We also discuss the importance of a holistic approach to feeding—truly listening to families about their goals, guiding them through challenges, and addressing the stigmas of volume-driven feeding cultures that exist in some NICUs, where breastfeeding is still not always fully supported.
Additionally, we discuss how Dr. Brown’s Medical has evolved the Infant-Driven Feeding® (IDF™) Program to incorporate breastfeeding and parental education as core components, ensuring mothers have the guidance and support to meet their feeding goals. We also share tangible ways parents can be involved with their baby from day one in the NICU, helping to build attachment and connection as they learn their baby’s behavioral cues. This beautiful, poetic dance—between parents and their infant as they discover and learn about one another—while it may look different in the NICU, is just as sacred and meaningful. It is one of the many reasons Dr. Brown’s Medical emphasizes parental education as a core part of the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program, helping parents interpret cues and actively participate in their baby’s feeding journey.
Ultimately, this episode is about enhancing and optimizing family-centered care, setting the foundation for a positive feeding journey, and empowering both parents and infants in those critical early months. Whether you’re a clinician seeking to improve feeding practices or a parent navigating the early days at home, Elisa and Lisa share decades of insight, practical strategies, and experience that will transform how you think about connection, care, and feeding.
The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents – Empowering NICU Parents' Podcast
- The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents
- From NICU Experience to Nonprofit Mission: A Family’s Journey to Today Is a Good Day
- The Lifelong Journey and Impact of Premature Birth: What Families Should Know
- Wave of Light: Finding Light After Loss
- Culture, Belief, and a Committed Team: The University of Iowa NICU Redefines What’s Possible
- Hope Against All Odds: Nash Keen’s Journey as the Most Premature Infant to Survive
Episode Sponsors
Dr. Brown’s Medical
Dr. Brown’s Medical strives to deliver valuable infant feeding products and programs to support parents and professionals in providing positive feeding experiences for the infants in their care. Traditional feeding products and practices in the NICU are inconsistent and can result in poor feeding outcomes.
Dr. Brown’s® unique Dr. Brown’s® Zero-Resistance™; nipples with reliable flow rates; and The Infant-Driven Feeding™ are evidence-based, standard-of-care practices that improve infant feeding outcomes.
The team at Dr. Brown’s Medical is available to provide support for you and your team to help achieve best-practice results. They provide 4 free webinars every year on various infant feeding topics and offer continuing education hours for Nurses, Occupational Therapists, and Speech-language Pathologists.
To learn more or speak with Dr. Brown’s Medical team, click HERE.
Our NICU Roadmap
Our NICU Roadmap is the only NICU journal parents will need. Our journal is a great resource for NICU parents with educational content, answers to many of their questions, a full glossary plus specific areas to document their baby’s progress each day while in the NICU. Our NICU Roadmap equips parents with questions to ask their baby’s care team each day as well as a designated place to keep track of their baby’s weight, lab values, respiratory settings, feedings, and the plan of care each day. Most importantly, Our NICU Roadmap guides parents and empowers them so they can confidently become and remain an active member of their baby’s care team.
Our NICU Roadmap is available for purchase on Amazon or contact us at empoweringnicuparents@yahoo.com to order in bulk at a discounted price for your hospital or organization.
Click HERE for additional information and images of Our NICU Roadmap.
NICU Milestone Cards
Capture every incredible moment your baby achieves while in the NICU with these colorful milestone cards.
Each set includes 26 bright, colorful, and unique downloadable milestone cards with a dedicated space for you to write the date your infant achieved each milestone.
Grab a photo with your baby and each milestone card. The photographs will be a great keepsake and with the date in the photo, you will never forget when your baby achieved each milestone.
Episode 72
Our Guests
Elisa Doherty
Elisa Doherty is a licensed and registered occupational therapist, Certified Neonatal Therapist, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and Small Baby Care Specialist with over twenty years of experience in infant care.
She is currently employed at Missouri Baptist Medical Center of BJC Healthcare where she is recognized at the highest level for professional development and is a subject matter expert in the realm of infant feeding. Her primary area of interest and expertise has been in the development of the NICU therapy care team where she serves as the Infant Team Clinical Coordinator.
Elisa has been a care champion for her hospital through the development of an interdisciplinary feeding initiative. Ten years ago, Elisa conceptualized, initiated, and continues to grow the Infant Feeding Clinic at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, an outpatient therapy feeding program, to achieve success in long term infant feeding goals with both breast and bottle. The Infant Feeding Clinic provides evaluation and intervention for all infants with feeding difficulties that extend beyond their hospital stay. Her focus is on the fragile infant, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Late Preterm Care, feeding follow up in the birth to six month population, and parent education and advocacy.
Elisa has a special passion for babies, best practice, and a great understanding of the parent role development that emerges with the birth of a new infant, especially when medical stability of the infant is in question.
Elisa is a wife, mother of four, and an active member of her church community with the mindset of service to others where encouragement and healing go hand in hand.
Lisa Kleinz
Lisa Kleinz is the Director of Education for Dr. Brown’s Medical. Her role is to explore, create, and deliver valuable educational, developmental care-focused resources to the Dr. Brown’s Medical team as well as healthcare professionals in the field of infant feeding. In this role, Lisa provides evidence-based, researched data, supporting positive feeding experiences for infants and their families.
Prior to joining Dr. Brown’s Medical in 2016, Lisa worked as a Speech Pathologist and Developmental Care Specialist for over 25 years in both Level 3 and 4 NICUs in the Chicago, IL area. Her certifications include Newborn Individualized Developmental Care Assessment Program (NIDCAP), Developmental Care Designation (NANN), Infant Massage Instructor, and Certified Lactation Specialist. She is also a Certified Neonatal Therapist and a member of the National Association of Neonatal Therapists. In addition, Lisa was one of the founding members of the Neonatal Therapy National Certification Board that facilitated the sole certification for neonatal therapists.
Lisa received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and Master’s at Indiana University. She is highly experienced with presentations at National conferences; created and presented webinars for NICU families and developed a 2-day course for Education Resources, Inc on Developmental Care in the NICU.
Lisa lives in Northwest Arkansas and while not absorbing all she can about infant feeding, she enjoys hiking, cooking healthy meals, and reading great books!
Identifying and Bridging the Infant Feeding Gap
Feeding an infant, especially in the first few months, can be overwhelming—parents are trying to learn how to read subtle cues, balance exhaustion, and manage worries about whether their baby is getting enough to eat, all while trying to establish a nurturing rhythm at home.
Elisa recognized a critical gap in care for families leaving the hospital: the transition from discharge to those first formative months at home can be overwhelming, especially when navigating feeding challenges. Many parents struggle to interpret their infant’s hunger cues, establish routines, or gain confidence in breastfeeding or bottle-feeding—even with full term infant. Elisa describes breastfeeding as a complex puzzle, where each infant, parent, and environment is a unique piece—and getting them all to fit together successfully can be challenging, especially when navigating the early months after leaving the hospital. Challenges are often compounded in NICUs where a volume-driven culture is common and individualized feeding goals or breastfeeding may not be fully support.
Her Infant Feeding Clinic was designed to bridge this gap, providing structured support, practical strategies, and emotional encouragement. Families learn to respond to their baby’s behavioral cues, establish consistent feeding routines, and develop confidence in their abilities, all while receiving individualized care that recognizes each infant and parent’s unique needs and goals. By combining skill-building with holistic support, the clinic helps families thrive during a period that can feel daunting, ensuring that feeding is not just about nutrition, but also about fostering attachment, connection, and long-term success.
Infant Feeding in the NICU
Feeding in the NICU can be both a critical and challenging experience for families. Elisa and Lisa highlight that even full-term, healthy infants can face feeding difficulties, and for preterm or medically fragile babies, these challenges are even more pronounced. Some NICUs still operate under a volume-driven approach, which can unintentionally place pressure on parents and undermine breastfeeding efforts. In contrast, a developmental and family-centered approach focuses on the infant’s readiness cues, growth patterns, and behavioral signals, ensuring feeding is both safe and supportive. By recognizing these cues and approaching feeding as a gradual, adaptive process, clinicians can help families navigate the emotional and practical challenges of these early months, ultimately supporting both infant growth and parental confidence.
A Holistic Approach to Infant Feeding
This complexity is exactly why a holistic approach to infant feeding is so important—one that considers not just the mechanics of feeding, but the infant’s developmental cues, the family’s goals, and the emotional support needed to create a positive, connected, and individualized feeding journey. A more holistic approach to infant feeding emphasizes truly listening to families, understanding their unique feeding goals, and guiding them through challenges with individualized support and care. Elisa and Lisa emphasize that breastfeeding can be challenging even for healthy, full-term infants, yet with the right guidance, support, and education, families can achieve their feeding goals. By taking the time to learn what families hope to achieve and focusing on the infant’s developmental readiness, clinicians can provide care that is supportive, personalized, and evidence-based—ensuring families feel empowered, confident, and truly supported throughout the feeding journey.
Importance of Parental Involvement and Building Connections
We discussed how parental involvement in the NICU is essential from day one. Even in a highly structured clinical environment, parents can become actively engaged with their baby in ways that foster attachment and connection. From observing and responding to their infant’s cues, participating in containment, skin-to-skin care, and taking part in feeding routines, parents learn how to support both their infant’s development and their own confidence. This early engagement not only reinforces trust and security for the baby but also empowers parents to become advocates for their child’s needs.
Infant-Driven Feeding® Program
Segueing from parental involvement, the conversation turns to the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program, which exemplifies the integration of feeding education, developmental support, and parental engagement. The program has evolved to incorporate breastfeeding elements throughout its curriculum in response to the challenges many families face in establishing and sustaining breastfeeding. The program teaches parents how to interpret and respond to their infant’s behavioral cues while emphasizing that active parental involvement is essential for a meaningful feeding journey. In addition to supporting breastfeeding goals, IDF™ integrates developmental supportive care strategies, helping parents understand their infant’s cues, stress signals, and readiness for interaction. By combining feeding education with parental engagement and developmental care, the program empowers families to build confidence, strengthen attachment, and foster a family-centered approach to care. This holistic approach ensures that the feeding experience is not just about nutrition, but about connection, bonding, and long-term success for both infants and their families.
Infant-Driven Feeding® Program
The Infant-Driven Feeding program is an evidence-based, research-supported online education program for neonatal units. It provides standard-of-care feeding practices and has been shown to improve breastfeeding and kangaroo care rates, increase parent and nurse satisfaction, shorten time to full oral feedings, reduce length of stay, and optimize feeding supplies.
Looking Ahead: Continuing the Conversation on Feeding and Family Support
As we wrap up this episode, Elisa and Lisa remind us that infant feeding is never just about the bottle or the breast—it’s about truly supporting families, listening to their goals, and guiding them through both the challenges and joys of those first formative months. The discussions around parental involvement, developmental care, and the evolution of the Infant-Driven Feeding program underscore how intentional, holistic, and family-centered support can transform not only the feeding journey but also the early parent-infant bond.
In our next episode, we’ll continue this conversation with Elisa and Lisa, diving deeper into strategies for improving feeding and breastfeeding experiences in the NICU during the protected breastfeeding window. We’ll discuss recent research demonstrating increased breastfeeding success rates in hospitals that use the Infant-Driven Feeding program, and Elisa will share tangible tips for clinicians looking to take small steps toward creating a similar clinic or program.
Stay tuned—you won’t want to miss it, especially if you’re looking to enhance care, empower families, and make those critical early months truly count.
Contact Information
Elisa Doherty: elisa.doherty@bjc.org
Lisa Kleinz: lisa.kleinz@drbrownsmedical.com
Dr. Brown’s Medical: medinfo@drbrownsmedical.com or idfinfo@drbrownsmedical.com
Closing
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Elisa Doherty and Lisa Kleinz. In this episode, we uncovered the critical role of infant feeding in the NICU and explored how Elisa’s vision for the Infant Feeding Clinic is helping bridge the gap in care for families during those first, critical formative months. We discussed why truly discussing and listening to families about their feeding goals matters, how clinicians can guide them through the challenges of breastfeeding—even with healthy, full-term infants—and how the Infant-Driven Feeding program now integrates breastfeeding and parental education to create a meaningful, personalized feeding journey. We explored the importance of parental involvement from day one and how it fosters connection, attachment, and a strong foundation for a positive feeding journey for the entire family.
This conversation was full of insights and practical strategies that can transform and inspire clinicians and parents alike who are committed to supporting infants and families during these formative early months.
Whether you’re a NICU parent navigating day by day, or a clinician working to better support families and improve outcomes, I hope this conversation left you feeling more informed, encouraged, and empowered.
Because no one should walk the NICU journey alone.
Until next time—stay strong, stay compassionate, stay kind, and keep leading with love.
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