Human milk feeding has many positive health-related effects, yet some parents who wish to breastfeed or chest feed do not feel fully supported by the hospitals and professionals who provide maternity care. This measure is reported as an overall rate that includes all newborns who were exclusively fed human milk during the entire hospitalization. It was developed by CMQCC and initially endorsed by the National Quality Forum in 2008. The measure was re-endorsed as one of NQF’s Perinatal and Reproductive Health measures in 2016, and The Joint Commission is now its steward. In 2024, The Joint Commission updated the verbiage in PC-05 to be inclusive of donor milk and chest feeding, updating mention of breastfeeding to Human Milk Feeding.
Exclusive Human Milk Feeding Measure Specifications
Measure Description
PC-05 assesses the number of newborns exclusively fed human milk during the newborn's entire hospitalization. This measure is a part of a set of nationally implemented measures that address perinatal care (PC-01: Elective Delivery, PC-02: Cesarean Section, PC-06 Unexpected Complications in Term Newborns).
Numerator Statement
Newborns who were fed human milk only since birth
Denominator Statement
Single term liveborn newborns discharged alive from the hospital with ICD-10-CM Principal Diagnosis Code for single liveborn newborn as defined in Appendix A, Table 11.20.1 available at: https://manual.jointcommission.org/releases/TJC2024A1/(link is external)
For more information and full measure specifications, please see The Joint Commission's website.