EBM
Also called ebm, expressed breast milk, expressed breastmilk, expressed milk
EBM stands for expressed breast milk, milk squeezed out of the breast by hand or with a pump so it can be stored and fed to the baby later. Neonatal units, childcare settings and parents all write it.
How it's said
Well, first EBM given tonight, and he absolutely wolfed it down.
I did EBM with my first as he never latched on.
As a tertiary neonatal unit with approximately 550 admissions per year, we estimate that approximately 38,000 EBM feeds are given annually.
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- In medicine EBM often means evidence-based medicine, using the best research in decisions about a patient's care. The thread or leaflet shows which one is meant.
Where it came from
It's hospital shorthand first. Neonatal units write EBM on milk labels and in their policies, and for many premature or very sick babies most feeds are EBM given through a tube. A Brighton neonatal team writing in Infant journal in 2019 estimated their unit gives about 38,000 EBM feeds a year.
Childcare guidance uses the same letters for milk parents bring in. Parents on forums have written ebm for their own expressed milk since at least 2005.