title: "I Had One Job and That Was To Make Milk".
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants, breastfeeding may no longer be an immediate option. Mothers often turn to mechanically expressing their milk with a breast pump to provide their infants human milk. Research aim: This study aimed to describe mothers' experiences expressing milk for their VLBW infants in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative, phenomenological methods were used to better understand the milk expression experiences of 17 mothers of VLBW infants. In-depth interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step protocol, and themes were identified to illustrate the lived experience of the mothers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five global themes emerged from interviews with mothers. However, this article focuses on one global theme, "I had one job and that was to make milk," and the supporting subthemes: (1) "I was heartbroken," (2) "Pumping is a full-time thing," and (3) "I literally sacrificed nights."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides insight into the complex experience that mothers in the southeastern United States undergo when expressing milk for their VLBW infants.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bower
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burnette
authors.affiliation: 3 Office of Research, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kavanagh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D061186:Breast Milk Expression / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology; D008895:Milk, Human; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: breast milk expression; breast pump; breastfeeding; human milk; preterm infants; qualitative methods