The Kennington Family. Photo courtesy of the Kennington Family
After years of dreaming of starting her own family, Lauren Kennington and her husband learned they would be parents: their baby girl was due October 2024.
"It was surreal when we learned we were finally pregnant," said Kennington. "After years of waiting and going through in vitro fertilization (IVF), we were finally going to grow our family with a special little girl!"
A few months later, Kennington unexpectedly developed HELLP (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets) Syndrome — a severe pregnancy complication associated with preeclampsia, or high blood pressure, that can be fatal. Symptoms of HELLP Syndrome include upper right abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches and fatigue. While receiving care at Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health, physicians explained to her and her husband that she would have to deliver their daughter, Stevie, right away. It was their only option in order to safely bring their infant into the world and help treat Kennington's life-threatening high blood pressure.
Identified early on in pregnancy, Stevie was also born with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, a genetic condition that affects a child's growth and required surgery immediately after birth. Because she was born severely premature and needed surgery, Stevie was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health for specialized care and support.
Stevie was placed on a ventilator immediately after she was born and stayed in the NICU for four months.
Multidisciplinary Support for our Most Fragile Patients
NICU teams at UC San Diego Health provide care for newborns who are born prematurely, have medical challenges or are recovering from surgery. Two of the hospitals within the academic medical system offer NICU support, including a Level II Intermediate NICU at Hillcrest Medical Center for babies who require short-term intensive care and a Level III NICU at Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla for babies with more critical or complex medical needs.
At both hospitals, NICU teams include an attending neonatologist, a neonatal fellow and pediatric residents through the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, neonatal nurse practitioners, a registered nurse who specializes in newborn care, a respiratory therapist, a pharmacist, occupational therapists, a nutritionist and a lactation consultant.
"At the beginning of our NICU journey, I was very concerned I would not be able to breastfeed, which was a personal goal of mine to do, but the team in the NICU assured me we would figure it out once Stevie could safely feed and breathe at the same time," said Kennington.
In the meantime, Kennington pumped her breast milk in order to nourish Stevie while she was in the hospital.
"The benefits of human milk are incredibly important for infants in the NICU, especially those born before 28 weeks gestation, because the intestinal barrier in a preterm baby is very sensitive and immature," said Sandra Leibel, MD, neonatologist at UC San Diego Health. "Breast milk can also help boost a baby's immune system and provides unique nutrition to help with their overall healing and growth."
For infants in the NICU who cannot breastfeed due to immaturity or other medical concerns, programs are available at UC San Diego Health to help with breastfeeding premature babies. The Supporting Premature Infant Nutrition (SPIN) program supports mothers as they pump, and donated breast milk from the UC Health Milk Bank helps mothers who are not yet lactating or choose not to pump. Established in 2020, the UC Health Milk Bank accepts donated frozen mother's milk and processes it to provide a safe, pasteurized human milk product for hospitalized and/or fragile children.
Strengthening Bonds by Offering a Wee Nuzzle
In 2021, Leibel and a team of neonatal fellows from UC San Diego School of Medicine worked together to launch a new program at UC San Diego Health. Called Wee Nuzzle, the program seeks to provide additional breastfeeding support for families in the NICU.
Wee Nuzzle is available at both Hillcrest and Jacobs Medical Centers. It is offered to parents who choose to breastfeed and for babies in the NICU greater than 30 weeks corrected gestational age, which is their age in weeks based on how far along the pregnancy occurred before the baby was born. These babies have not yet developed sufficient developmental skills to breastfeed and may still be on some support for their breathing.
During participation in the program, moms are guided through a skin-to-skin practice that offers the baby to safely be held in nursing positions with mom at least once a day. Because babies do not latch or nurse right away, the goal is to first get both mom and baby comfortable in nursing positions, encourage bonding, and eventually breastfeed while still being cared for in the NICU and after discharge.
Since launching, the Wee Nuzzle program has been shown to strengthen the bond between mom and baby, boost breast milk production, improve health outcomes and increase the confidence of parents who are caring for medically fragile newborns.
"I was inspired to create this non-nutritive breastfeeding practice in order to encourage hope within parents, as many of them are dealing with high stress while their baby is in the hospital," said Leibel. "During Wee Nuzzle, we focus on the bond between baby and parent, as well as the baby's stamina and breathing abilities to ensure they will be able to safely breastfeed once medically cleared to do so."
Four weeks after Stevie was born, Kennington was introduced to the Wee Nuzzle program by Leibel, her attending neonatologist.
“Breast milk can help boost a baby’s immune system and provides unique nutrition to help with their overall healing and growth.”
— Sandra Leibel, MD, neonatologist at UC San Diego Health
"Being able to hold Stevie skin-to-skin and eventually breastfeed her really helped make a very stressful situation much better; it improved my mood and we saw firsthand how it also improved Stevie's health as her oxygen levels would recover each time we practiced," said Kennington. "Through the support of Dr. Leibel and our incredible NICU team, we held Stevie at my breast multiple times each day and we left the hospital actively nursing."
Kennington added that she'd never forget the first time Stevie successfully latched to breastfeed after being the NICU for two months, and when Stevie was taken off her breathing machine for the first time.
"Stevie latched and it was as though we all took one big exhale," said Kennington. "One of the attending physicians that was with me started crying because she was so happy to see me achieve something I had always dreamed for. Everyone was so supportive during one of the most challenging moments in my life and I will always be so grateful for everyone that helped me, my husband and our baby."
Celebrating Each Sweet Milestone
One week before being discharged from the NICU at Jacobs Medical Center, Stevie underwent additional testing due to being born with Beckwith-Weidemann Syndrome. The condition can cause tumors to grow in certain organs and an MRI unfortunately identified a tumor on her liver. Instead of going home, Stevie was transferred to Rady Children's Health for additional care, surgery and chemotherapy for two months.
Kennington credited the breastfeeding guidance and support she received as the reason why she was able to continue nursing while Stevie faced another challenging health diagnosis.
"We originally created Wee Nuzzle to help preterm infants get ready for feeding, but Stevie proved that it can help all kinds of babies — even those with more complicated medical issues," said Leibel. "Stevie reminded us to not put limits on what these babies, or their parents, can do."
In July 2025, Stevie celebrated her first birthday cancer-free and thriving with her loving parents, family and friends by her side, including very special guests: Leibel and the rest of her NICU team.
"Her first birthday was incredibly emotional, we finally felt like we've made it through to the other side and to see Stevie healthy, smashing her cake and laughing, while breathing on her own, was incredibly surreal," said Kennington. "To any new parent who just delivered or whose baby is in the NICU, please know you are not alone. Trust yourself and trust your medical team. Regardless of how you choose to feed your baby, everyone is on your side and has your best interests at heart."
Kennington shared that Stevie is now working on solid foods, with one of her first bites being her sweet birthday "smash cake."
Breastfeeding Support at UC San Diego Health
We are nationally known for our breastfeeding support for parents who choose to breastfeed and our hospitals are designated as Baby-Friendly for upholding the highest standards of feeding care for newborns.
