Objectives: To increase exclusive breastfeeding duration rate by applying a transcultural education approach.
Significance to the conference theme: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast milk has all the nourishment to ensure the child’s physiological and psychological development. Healthy People 2020, Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and the American Academy of Pediatrician recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of the child’s life (WHO, 2016). The CDC report card revealed 26.1% of mothers in New York State supplement breast milk with formula within the first two days of life (CDC, 2016). This urban organization EBF rate of twenty-six percent at discharge falls below BFHI recommended goal of eighty percent.
Methodology: pre-intervention postpartum mothers between the age of eighteen and forty-four who exclusive breastfed at hospital discharge were compared with postpartum mothers’ after six weeks intervention. All participants were provided quality standard care including prenatal education, skin-to-skin immediate after birth uninterrupted through the first breastfeed. The education was reinforced during the postpartum hospital stay. Additionally, the intervention included telephone-based calls at intervals of seventy-two hours, and subsequent weekly through eight weeks with interventions or referral as indicated. Newborn assessment performed at seventy-two hours, one week, two weeks and six weeks. The comparison of both groups at hospital discharge and at six-weeks using chi square test.
Result: The p value =0.8983 from the chi square test analysis comparing proportions of exclusive BF in the two group. 25% pre-intervention and 26% post-intervention showed no significant difference between the pre and post intervention in the exclusive breastfeeding duration rate.
Conclusion: Applying transcultural education approach potentially would increase the EBF. Unfortunately, the timeline and the number of participants was considered a limitation. The investigators recommend further assessment and evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the quality improvement intervention.