Introduction
Welcome to the Empowering NICU Parents’ Podcast!
The Empowering NICU Parents’ Podcast blends professional insight with deeply personal experience in a way that every NICU parent and clinician can relate to.
In our 69th episode, I was joined by Casey Lewis, a neonatal therapist, speech-language pathologist (SLP), lactation counselor—and a NICU mom—as well as Lisa Kleinz, the Director of Education at Dr. Brown’s Medical with over 25 years of NICU experience as a speech language pathologist. Together, we explored what it really means to support NICU families during and after their hospital stay in NICU.
Casey shared her story of delivering her daughter in the very NICU where she built her career, and how that experience gave her a whole new understanding of what NICU families go through. We talked about the emotional complexity of being a clinician-turned-parent, the unintended harm of dismissive language or medical gaslighting, and the trauma that lingers long after discharge—no matter how many days your baby spent in the NICU, or how many weeks’ gestation they were at birth.
We also dove into the heart of NICU feeding—how bottle and nipple selection affects safety, how inconsistent messaging creates confusion for families, and why evidence-based tools like Dr. Brown’s bottle system can make a meaningful difference. And we look closely at the often overlooked challenges around breastfeeding in the NICU—how rushed timelines and lack of education can derail even the most motivated families.
Whether you’re a NICU parent, therapist, provider, nurse striving to better support families, or a hospital leader focused on improving outcomes—this episode offers practical guidance, honest reflection, and evidence-based strategies that highlight how communication, education, and feeding practices directly impact both short- and long-term outcomes for babies and families.
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.
BEB Organic
BEB Organic creates clean, clinically tested skincare to support the healthy skin development of all babies—especially those born prematurely or facing medical challenges.
Trusted by NICUs and hospitals, their fragrance-free, plant-based products like the Nurturing Oil and Soothing Serum are gentle enough for even the smallest preterm infants. You can also explore their Silky Cream, Bubbly Wash, Diaper Balm, Gua Sha Set, Vital Hydration Set, and Baby Bump Sensory Set—each one thoughtfully designed to nourish, protect, and support your baby’s well-being from day one.
Explore the full BEB Organic line and discover the power of healing touch.
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.
Newborn Holiday Cards
Celebrate every one of your baby’s first holidays with these beautiful, unique holiday cards. There is a card for every major and minor holiday so you will not miss capturing the perfect photo opportunity during your baby’s first year!
Each uniquely designed card is 5 x 5 and will make the perfect photo prop as you celebrate all of your baby’s first holidays! The cards are downloadable, so you can get them right away!
Episode 69
Our Guests
Casey Lewis
Casey Lewis, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CNT, CLC, NTMTC, is a licensed speech-language pathologist, board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders, and certified neonatal therapist. With over a decade of experience across skilled nursing, home health, schools, and both community and pediatric hospital settings, Casey brings a well-rounded and deeply specialized perspective to infant feeding and developmental care.
She served as the lead NICU SLP at Medical City Lewisville, where she developed a multidisciplinary oral feeding algorithm and led hospital-wide initiatives focused on improving feeding outcomes, reducing length of stay, and supporting family involvement in care. Most recently, she provided care at Cook Children’s Medical Center, treating medically complex infants and children in both the NICU and acute care settings.
Casey is also the founder of Texscope, LLC, a mobile endoscopy company that provides Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) across Texas, improving access to high-quality dysphagia diagnostics. Her clinical passions include trauma-informed care, neuroprotective feeding practices, and empowering NICU families through education and advocacy.
She lives in Texas with her husband and daughter, where she continues to combine her professional expertise with her personal experience as a NICU parent to support families and clinicians alike.
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!
Connection with Lisa Klein and Early Lessons in Developmental Care
I had the privilege of working with Lisa during my early years as a NICU nurse in the Chicago suburbs. I want to personally thank her for the time, knowledge, and passion she shared with me around developmental care. What I learned from her—especially about neurodevelopment, neuroprotection, and the importance of individualized, gentle care—truly shaped the kind of nurse and eventually NNP I became. Looking back, I know that knowledge played a critical role in how I was able to care for our son during his own NICU journey, and ultimately his outcomes, and I’ll always be grateful to her for that foundation.
Casey’s Dual Perspective: NICU Clinician and Parent
Casey shares the story of her daughter’s birth at 34 6/7 weeks following a silent placental abruption. Despite being highly monitored during her pregnancy, a genetic clotting disorder was only identified postpartum. Her daughter was born at the same hospital where Casey had spent years building her NICU career, and she opens up about the complex emotional experience of becoming a patient and parent in the very unit where she had previously practiced as a clinician.
Casey reflects on the trauma of recovering from a C-section, managing the early demands of milk production, and commuting 70 miles roundtrip each day while her daughter remained hospitalized for 23 days. Despite being highly trained and working in that very NICU, she still found herself overwhelmed by uncertainty and fear. The dual role of clinician and parent created a unique tension—her colleagues knew her personal health history, and suddenly her professional world became intimately personal.
She describes the tension between her clinical mindset and the raw emotions of new motherhood, especially when overhearing casual staff conversations while sitting at the bedside.
Language, Desensitization, and the Urgent Need for Trauma-Informed Practice
Casey and Nicole reflect on how damaging it can be for parents to overhear staff members casually discussing other babies, personal plans, or even joking at the bedside. While common in clinical culture, this desensitization often disregards the emotional reality of families sitting in fear, grief, or trauma only a few feet away.
When asked about her key takeaways after becoming a NICU parent herself, Casey emphasizes how much more deeply she now understands the emotional toll that the NICU takes on families. She recalls how isolating and overwhelming it felt to navigate feeding decisions, medical updates, and her own recovery simultaneously. One of the most impactful realizations was how seemingly casual conversations or decisions by care team members could feel invalidating or distressing to a parent. She became more attuned to how vulnerable and powerless families can feel, even when surrounded by compassionate professionals. She emphasizes the need for hands-on education and ongoing support for NICU teams to fully grasp the weight of the environment families are experiencing. This lived experience reaffirmed her passion for trauma-informed care, respectful communication, and the importance of validating every parent’s role in the NICU.
Casey reflects on the trauma of recovering from a C-section, managing the early demands of milk production, and commuting 70 miles roundtrip each day while her daughter remained hospitalized for 23 days. She also reflects on her decision to take time away from bedside care to prioritize her own healing and family, noting the importance of self-awareness and emotional boundaries for healthcare professionals.
Nicole echoes these experiences from her own journey and shares her firm belief that trauma-informed care should not be optional, but a required component of orientation for every NICU nurse, therapist, and physician. They both call out the lack of actionable education in most NICUs, where trauma-informed care is treated as a one-time webinar rather than a consistent, embedded culture supported by leadership and peers.
Rethinking Feeding Practices in the NICU: Why Consistency Matters
The conversation shifts to feeding practices in the NICU, beginning with Casey’s professional and personal observations of nipple selection and flow rates. She explains how she intentionally chose the Dr. Brown’s Ultra-Preemie Nipple for her own daughter due to its consistent flow and vented system, which reduces the effort required for infants to feed. As a swallowing expert, she knew how critical those details were in protecting her baby’s airway and promoting positive oral experiences.
Casey and Lisa both address a recurring problem: the misconception that babies must “graduate” through nipples to be ready for discharge. Casey discusses how clinicians often pressure parents to switch to faster-flow nipples too soon, despite no clinical indication. She highlights the importance of trusting individualized feeding plans and resisting pressure to make unnecessary changes when a baby is thriving, reinforcing that consistency and cue-based decisions should guide care.a statement that, in her view, reflects a lack of understanding about swallowing physiology and feeding safety.
Understanding the Science Behind the Dr. Brown’s Feeding System
Lisa expands on the science behind the Dr. Brown’s feeding system, emphasizing that it is the only bottle system with a true internal vent that prevents negative pressure, allowing for positive pressure only —which more closely mimics the breastfeeding experience. She explains how this system reduces feeding fatigue, supports oral-motor skill development, and helps prevent disorganized or unsafe swallowing. This consistent, controlled flow can be critical for medically fragile infants who require safe, efficient, and developmentally appropriate feeding interventions. Lisa also emphasizes that while Dr. Brown’s bottles are often discussed in the context of NICU use, their benefits extend to all infants. The design supports safe and consistent feeding for babies of all gestational ages and feeding needs, making it a versatile and reliable choice for both hospital and home use.
Consistency and Communication
Lisa addresses the challenges of inconsistent feeding messaging across day and night shifts and the confusion this creates for parents. She highlights the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program—an educational platform that promotes shared language, standardized assessment, and evidence-based feeding practices for NICU teams. In addition to helping clinicians deliver consistent care, the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program also supports parents by involving them in the feeding process and educating them about infant cues, readiness, and progression. This shared understanding between staff and families improves communication, builds confidence, and ensures families are better prepared for discharge and beyond.
Casey shares her experience with care variation and the importance of collaborative planning and respect for clinical recommendations from specialists like speech language pathologists. The discussion reinforces how unified communication and clearly defined plans can reduce family stress and support better outcomes.
Supporting Breastfeeding in the NICU
Casey speaks candidly about her experience with breastfeeding in the NICU, explaining how even with a lactation background, she felt pressure to transition to bottle feeding in order to facilitate a quicker discharge for her daughter. Despite her clinical knowledge, she felt there was little support or protected time provided to focus on breastfeeding. She describes being offered only one day where breastfeeding was prioritized, and how that missed opportunity impacted the bonding and feeding journey with her daughter.
She emphasizes the need for bedside nurses and staff to receive hands-on training to properly support mothers learning to breastfeed, especially with medically fragile infants. Having someone simply close the curtain is not enough; these families need physical guidance, emotional reassurance, and consistent encouragement.
Lisa echoes these concerns and highlights how few NICUs are equipped with a dedicated IBCLC. As part of addressing this gap, Dr. Brown’s Medical intentionally integrated a robust breastfeeding component into the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program. This addition ensures that breastfeeding is not only acknowledged but supported through standardized education, helping staff promote breastfeeding as a key part of neurodevelopmental care planning and as part of the program. As a result, the burden of breastfeeding education often falls inconsistently across staff, leading to mixed messaging and missed opportunities for families. She stresses the importance of integrating breastfeeding as part of the developmental care plann from day one—treating it not as a supplemental option but as a vital part of the infant’s health and neurodevelopment.
Together, they call for a cultural shift where all staff—not just lactation consultants—are equipped and empowered to support breastfeeding families in practical, compassionate ways.
Discharge Planning and Feeding Continuity at Home
Casey and Lisa discuss the importance of aligning discharge plans with the feeding tools and techniques used in the NICU. Casey describes how she provided families with discharge handouts, QR codes for product access, and emphasized the need to send babies home with the bottle systems they were already using to avoid regression or unsafe feeding practices.
They caution against sending families home with disposable nipples or inconsistent equipment and highlight how education and continuity can ease the transition and reduce unnecessary stress for families.
Final Reflections on Advocacy and Systemic Change
Casey closes the conversation by reflecting on her renewed commitment to advocacy and education. She highlights how her personal NICU experience deepened her understanding of the parent perspective and emphasized the gaps that still exist in NICU systems. Lisa encourages teams to adopt standardized approaches to feeding and embrace the tools that promote safety, communication, and family confidence.
Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own practices and consider what intentional care means in their role—whether as a parent, nurse, therapist, or hospital leader.
Dr. Brown’s Bottles and Feeding Supplies
Dr. Brown’s bottles and feeding supplies are available at https://drbrownsbaby.com/ as well as major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Families discharging from the hospital can also use the QR codes below to help locate products and maintain consistency at home.
Contact Casey Lewis
Instagram: @thecaseylewis
Texscope, LLC: www.texscopedx.com
Closing
Thank you so much to Casey for so openly sharing her personal NICU story, and how that experience has reshaped her both personally and professionally. Her insight is a powerful reminder of how deeply the NICU journey affects every family..
A big thank you as well to former Lisa Kleinz for joining us on the podcast again and for bringing her decades of NICU experience and her leadership at Dr. Brown’s Medical into this discussion. As we explored, the vital role Dr. Brown’s Medical plays in supporting safe, consistent, and individualized feeding experiences for all infants. From their research-based bottle system to the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program, Dr. Brown’s is committed to equipping both families and NICU staff with the tools and education needed to improve outcomes. They are also leading the way in feeding education and consistency of care through programs like their Infant-Driven Feeding® Program.
Whether you’re a NICU parent navigating your baby’s care, or a NICU clinician—nurse, therapist, or hospital leader—working to improve outcomes, we hope this episode leaves you with practical strategies, renewed empathy, and a deeper understanding of how communication, feeding practices, and support systems can make all the difference.
You will find links in the show notes to everything we discussed today, including Dr. Brown’s and Dr. Brown’s Medical resources and how to connect with Casey and Lisa.
If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, share it with someone who you feel will gain some value from it, and continue to help us advocate for informed, compassionate care.
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