Jennifer McAllister, MD, staff physician with Neonatology

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
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

Neurobehavioral problems at age 2 years in children with prenatal opioid exposure. Baig, N; Sun, Q; Liu, C; Ehrlich, S; Merhar, S; McAllister, J. 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. Neel, ML; Bora, S; Brachio, SS; Duncan, A; Vanderbilt, D; Benninger, K; Kendrick-Allwood, S; Maitre, NL; Alur, R; Barnes-Davis, M; Sarmiento, C; Sawyer, C; Frances Su, HF; West, K. 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. Devlin, LA; Hu, Z; Merhar, SL; Ounpraseuth, ST; Simon, AE; Lee, JY; Das, A; Crawford, MM; Greenberg, RG; Smith, PB; White, JR; Newman, S; Snowden, JN; Young, LW. JAMA pediatrics. 2024; 178:525-532.

Behavioral Outcomes of Children With In-Utero Opioid Exposure Age 2-7 and Parenting Self-Efficacy. Arter, S; Kiel, E; McAllister, J; Hay, MC. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (Elsevier). 2024; 30:569-575.

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; Howell, MP; Newman, S; Snowden, JN; Devlin, LA. 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; Murnan, A; Kair, LR. 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.

From the Blog

Follow-Up Crucial After Fetal Opioid Exposure
Perinatal

Follow-Up Crucial After Fetal Opioid Exposure

Jennifer McAllister, MD, IBCLC6/30/2019

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4.6
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