Breastfeeding Education for Providers in a Pediatric Primary Care Setting

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends women breastfeed exclusively for a minimum of six months (2011). Studies suggest that providing healthcare providers with the current, evidence-based guideline on breastfeeding is beneficial in the pediatric primary care setting (Watkins, Dodgson, & McClain, 2017). Outpatient pediatric practices have the unique opportunity to provide education and support to breastfeeding mothers, and studies have shown this education and support can have a significant effect on the initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding (Ramos, Sebastian, Sebesta, McConnell, & McKinney, 2019). Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians provide guidance for clinical care with the goal of increasing breastfeeding rates and duration. One of the key recommendations from “The Breastfeeding-Friendly Physician’s Office” specifies that all staff within the outpatient pediatric practice, including medical doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, and medical assistants, should be trained on the skills necessary to support breastfeeding (Grawey, Marinelli, Holmes, & the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, 2013). Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to develop and present an evidence-based educational presentation on breastfeeding to pediatric primary care providers. The goal of this evidence-based presentation was to increase provider’s knowledge on breastfeeding recommendations in the outpatient pediatric setting of a pediatric primary care clinic. Methods: This DNP project used a convenience sample of providers from a single pediatric primary care clinic in Tucson, Arizona. A quantitative, pretest-posttest survey was used to assess knowledge related to breastfeeding before and after an evidence-based educational intervention. The pretest and posttest were administered with Qualtrics software to ensure anonymity and convenience of use. Descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the data collected and a Wilcoxon signed rank test was completed to determine statistical significance of the results. Results: The results of this DNP project revealed participant (n=10) knowledge of evidence-based breastfeeding recommendations improved significantly after completion of the educational intervention (p=0.01) with a mean score of 50% on the pretest and 92% on the posttest. Discussion: The results of this DNP project demonstrated a significant increase in providers’ knowledge after completion of evidence-based education on breastfeeding. Pediatric primary care providers are in a unique position to provide breastfeeding support to mothers. Increased breastfeeding support allows for increased success in sustaining the breastfeeding relationship between mothers and their infants. Therefore, it is important for pediatric primary care providers to be knowledgeable on current breastfeeding guidelines and recommendations.