How to Use a Feeding Bag for a Gravity Flow Feeding
- 1). Wash your hands with soap and warm water. It is important to your keep hands and all feeding supplies clean to prevent infection.
- 2). Gather the feeding bag, syringe, formula cans and the physician's feeding instructions on a flat work surface.
- 3). Open the formula cans. Standard cans hold 125 mL of prepared formula.
- 4). Open the feeding bag and pour in the recommended amount of formula. Most feeding bags hold up to 1000 mL of formula, or four cans. If the physician's orders call for more than 1000 mL of fluid, you can add more after the initial administration.
- 5). Close the top of the feeding bag.
- 6). Fill the syringe with at least 50 mL of water. Flush the feeding tube with the water.
- 7). Sit at an angle of at least 45 degrees to the patient. This angle will prevent the formula from backing up in the feeding tube and into the person's stomach and possibly the lungs.
- 8). Connect the feeding tube to the feeding bag.
- 9). Hang the feeding bag at least 2 feet above your head. This height allows gravity to assist in the flow of formula from the feeding bag and through the feeding tube. Hang the bag on an IV pole, an IV bag clip or a tall bedpost.
- 10
Unclamp the feeding tube and allow the formula to flow from the feeding bag into the tube. Typical administration time is between one and two hours, depending on the amount of formula being administered. - 11
Help the person stay upright and keep the person's head elevated for at least 30 minutes following the complete administration of the formula. - 12
Remove the feeding bag from the feeding tube. Fill the syringe with 50 mL of water and flush the feeding tube. - 13
Clamp the feeding tube. - 14
Wash all supplies with soap and warm water and allow them to air-dry in preparation for the next use. You can wash and reuse feeding bags and syringes as many times as needed, or you can throw them away if you prefer. Store unused formula in a refrigerator for up to eight hours.
Source...