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
- Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- jennifer.mcallister@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
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
Interests
Follow up care of infants treated for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Research Areas
Locations (2)
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.
Publications
Maternal Perception of Infant Sleep and Bonding in Opioid Use Disorder. Journal of Addiction Medicine. 2025; 19:83-88.
Pediatric Primary Care of Children With Intrauterine Opioid Exposure: Survey of Academic Teaching Practices. Academic Pediatrics. 2024; 24:1304-1313.
Infant Feeding and Weight Trajectories in the Eat, Sleep, Console Trial: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA pediatrics. 2024; 178:976-984.
Neurobehavioral problems at age 2 years in children with prenatal opioid exposure. Journal of Perinatology. 2024; 44:1146-1151.
Challenges and Opportunities in High-Risk Infant Follow-Up: Progress from the 2022 Networking Session at the Pediatric Academic Societies. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2024; 270:113971.
Influence of Eat, Sleep, and Console on Infants Pharmacologically Treated for Opioid Withdrawal: A Post Hoc Subgroup Analysis of the ESC-NOW Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA pediatrics. 2024; 178:525-532.
Behavioral Outcomes of Children With In-Utero Opioid Exposure Age 2-7 and Parenting Self-Efficacy. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (Elsevier). 2024; 30:569-575.
Controversies and Conundrums in Newborn Feeding. Clinics in Perinatology. 2023; 50:729-742.
Eat, Sleep, Console Approach or Usual Care for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2023; 388:2326-2337.
Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: An Update on Developmental Outcomes. Clinics in Perinatology. 2023; 50:17-29.
From the Blog
Podcast | Infant Series: Tongue Ties and Feeding Concerns
Jennifer McAllister, MD, IBCLC, Marsha Lee Watson, MS, CCC-SLP, COM4/26/2024
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