A photo of Jennifer McAllister.

Jennifer McAllister, MD, IBCLC


  • Medical Director, West Chester Hopsital Special Care Nursery
  • Medical Director, University of Cincinnati Newborn Nursery
  • Medical Director, Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) Follow-Up Clinic
I enjoy working with new parents and their infants as they start their journey into parenthood.
Jennifer McAllister, MD, IBCLC

About

Biography

I am a pediatrician with special interests in newborn care, breastfeeding and follow-up care for infants with prenatal opioid exposure. I enjoy working with new parents and their infants as they start their journey into parenthood. It's a time of significant change as families experience the challenges that come with having a new baby.

In my practice, I approach patients as if I'm speaking to my own family and friends. I enjoy discussing shared experiences while also providing evidenced-based practices. Often, I see my role as an educator. I strive to be approachable as I want parents to feel comfortable bringing forth any questions and concerns.

As an international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC), I love helping families with the successes and sometimes difficulties that come with breastfeeding. I also direct the Cincinnati Children’s Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) Follow-Up Clinic, which provides care for infants and children exposed to opioids prenatally. In my clinical research, I focus on the short- and long-term medical and developmental outcomes of prenatal opioid exposure.

In my free time, I enjoy traveling, spending time outdoors with my family and participating in triathlons.

MD: University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, OH, 2007.

Residency: Pediatrics, University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, 2010.

Certification: Pediatrics, 2010.

Interests

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome; newborn care; breastfeeding

Services and Specialties

Neonatology, Perinatal

Interests

Follow up care of infants treated for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Research Areas

Neonatology

Insurance Information

Cincinnati Children's strives to accept a wide variety of health plans. Please contact your health insurance carrier to verify coverage for your specific benefit plan.

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Publications

Controversies and Conundrums in Newborn Feeding. McAllister, J; Wexelblatt, S; Ward, L. Clinics in Perinatology. 2023; 50:729-742.

Eat, Sleep, Console Approach or Usual Care for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal. Young, LW; Ounpraseuth, ST; Merhar, SL; Hu, Z; Simon, AE; Bremer, AA; Lee, JY; Das, A; Crawford, MM; Greenberg, RG; et al. The New England journal of medicine. 2023; 388:2326-2337.

Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: An Update on Developmental Outcomes. Benninger, KL; McAllister, JM; Merhar, SL. Clinics in Perinatology. 2023; 50:17-29.

Associations Between Infant Sleep and Postpartum Maternal-Infant Bonding Among Mothers with Opioid Use Disorder. Xu, JH; Merhar, S; DeFranco, EA; McAllister, J; Nidey, N. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2023; 228:s154-s155.

Racial Inequities in Breastfeeding Counseling Among Pregnant People Who Use Cannabis. Nidey, N; Hoyt-Austin, A; Chen, MJ; Bentley, B; Tabb, KM; Anyigbo, C; Wilder, C; Terplan, M; McAllister, JM; Wexelblatt, SL; et al. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2022; 140:878-881.

Rates of substance and polysubstance use through universal maternal testing at the time of delivery. Smith, BL; Hall, ES; McAllister, JM; Marcotte, MP; Setchell, KD R; Megaraj, V; Jimenez, KL; John Winhusen, T; Wexelblatt, SL. Journal of Perinatology. 2022; 42:1026-1031.

Regional comparison of self-reported late pregnancy cigarette smoking to mass spectrometry analysis. Hall, ES; McAllister, JM; Kelly, EA; Setchell, KD R; Megaraj, V; Jimenez, KL; Nidey, N; Greenberg, JM; Wexelblatt, SL. Journal of Perinatology. 2021; 41:2417-2423.

Addressing Community Gaps in Breastfeeding Support: From Hospital to First Visit. Ware, J; McAllister, J; Chlon, C; Steffen, R; Haehnle, R; Crable, S; Ward, LP; Walters, E. Pediatrics. 2021; 147:332-333.

Longitudinal Outcomes of Children Exposed to Opioids In-utero: A Systematic Review. Arter, SJ; Tyler, B; McAllister, J; Kiel, E; Güler, A; Cameron Hay, M. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2021; 53:55-64.

Hospital Care of Opioid-Exposed Newborns: Clinical and Psychosocial Challenges. Goyal, NK; McAllister, J. Journal of hospital medicine (Online). 2020; 15:613-618.

From the Blog

Follow-Up Crucial After Fetal Opioid Exposure
Perinatal

Follow-Up Crucial After Fetal Opioid Exposure

Jennifer McAllister, MD, IBCLC6/30/2019

Patient Ratings and Comments

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4.6
Overall Patient Rating