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Learning Objective 1: Participants will be able to list 3 of the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding”.
Learning Objective 2: Participants will be able to determine maternity care practices that significantly effect breastfeeding success.
Research has long made clear that breastfeeding is the optimal choice for mothers and their infants. In the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, Dr. Regina Benjamin states breastfeeding is “one of the most highly effective preventive measures a mother can take to protect the health of her infant and herself.” According to the Healthy People 2020 objectives, which investigated barriers to breastfeeding, maternity care practices often present obstacles to breastfeeding mothers. Dr. Benjamin encourages the healthcare system to utilize the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative as an evidence-based practice strategy to support breastfeeding. In the United States, fewer than four percent of births occur in hospitals that have been awarded the Baby-Friendly designation meeting the standards set by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization to provide an optimal level of breastfeeding care.
This study used a pretest-posttest quasi experimental design with the target population of healthcare practitioners in facilities providing maternity care services to determine if an educational intervention increased knowledge and positively influence attitudes regarding maternity care practices related to the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)? The average pretest score measuring knowledge was 76 %. This increased to 95 % following staff training. On the Likert scale questions concerning attitude the pretest mean score was 3.84, increasing to 4.53 following the intervention. Our findings indicate a significant impact on knowledge and attitude about BFHI consistent maternity care practices when healthcare staff are provided with targeted education.