System and method for warming premature infant feedings

#The present invention relates generally to the field of pediatrics and, more particularly, to a system and method for warming premature infant feedings.

#Infants are sometimes born prematurely. Since “premies” are not carried full term they are not fully developed and, hence, need to be looked after with great care. Premies are typically placed in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (“NICU”) after being born so that nurses may pay close attention to them to ensure that they are nurtured in the correct manner. One of the most important things for a premie is weight gain. The faster they can put on weight, the better. This is why NICU nurses feed the premies milk on a scheduled basis.

#The preference is to feed a premie fresh breast milk from the mother because of the perceived advantages of breast milk. There is hope that the immunologic advantages of breast milk will benefit in reducing some disease processes in very premature infants. However, it is not always possible to feed premies fresh breast milk. Accordingly, breast milk has to be either refrigerated or frozen and then warmed at a later time.

#Other technical advantages are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

#For a more complete understanding of the invention, and for further features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is an exploded view, in perspective, of an infant feeding warmer in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

#Example embodiments of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring now to FIGS. 1-6 of the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

#FIG. 1 is an exploded view, in perspective, of an infant feeding warmer 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Although infant feeding warmer 100 may be used to warm any suitable liquid for any suitable purpose, infant feeding warmer 100 is particularly advantageous for warming feedings for premature infants. As used throughout this description, a “feeding”refers to an amount of breast milk or other liquid suitable for feeding infants that is housed in any suitable container, such as a syringe, a 60 cc Vol-feeder, a vial, a tube, a bottle, or any other suitable container that is able to hold an amount of liquid. One of the most important considerations for a premature infant is rapid weight gain. One way to put weight on a premature infant rapidly is to feed the premature infant breast milk from the mother at the correct temperature. Breast milk is thought to be preferred over other types of milk and/or liquid because of the immunoglobulins, nutritional components and vitamins found therein. It is important that these alleged benefits of breast milk stay intact; this is one reason why overheating of breast milk should be avoided. Feeding a premature infant breast milk at the correct temperature also avoids any undue stress on the infant that may be present as a result of the temperature difference between the feeding and the body of the premature infant. Other reasons exist for feeding a premature infant breast milk at the correct temperature. Infant feeding warmer 100, according to the teachings of the present invention, has the ability to heat multiple infant feedings to the correct temperature in a short amount of time. Generally, infant feeding warmer 100 facilitates this by continuously recirculating heated air through individual feeding receptacles and ensuring that the feedings contained within the feeding receptacles are not overheated.

#In the illustrated embodiment, infant feeding warmer 100 includes a housing 5 having a lower chamber 19, a middle chamber 20, an upper chamber 8, a fan housing 16, and a motor housing 42. A cover 6 encloses housing 5. Infant feeding warmer 100 further includes a plurality of feeding receptacles 12, including at least one false feeding receptacle 25, disposed within middle chamber 20, a plurality of portals 23 positioned above respective feeding receptacles 12, a false feeding 11 disposed within false feeding receptacle 25, a surface heat sensor probe 10 coupled to false feeding 11, and a heating unit 9 disposed within motor housing 42. Infant feeding warmer 100 may also include a plurality of air restrictor plugs 24 and a plurality of adapter rings 28. Infant feeding warmer 100 may include different elements or a greater or lesser number of elements than those illustrated in FIG. 1.