Table 2 Key objectives of lactation support

1. Informing all mothers and parents with a risk of premature birth about breastfeeding and pumping

2. Skin-to-skin contact in the delivery room with gradations (If skin-to-skin contact is not possible in the delivery room, touching the child and at least seeing the child directly after birth)

3. Initiation of lactation within one to four hours after birth, latest within six hours after birth with the gold standard to combine pumping and manual milk expression

4. Colostrum as the first feeding and no formula feeding

5. Maintain lactation with a pumping frequency of at least eight to ten times in 24 h three days after birth and reach at least a milk volume of 500 ml/day on day 14 days post-partum

6. Continuously checking maternal need for lactation support to enable early recognition of lactation problems and motivate mothers

7. Unlimited access to the child

8. Continuous, regular skin-to-skin contact

9. Early breast-to-mouth contact and transition to breastfeeding

10. Mother’s own milk as the gold standard