Provider Breastfeeding Education:

Primary Care Breastfeeding Support is divided into sections including:

1. Primary Care Breastfeeding Supprt:  A brief discussion of breastfeeding recommendations, barriers to breastfeeding, and the importance of health care provider support

2. Care of the Breastfeeding Dyad: Breastfeeding differs from other areas of medicine in that evaluation and management is not of an individual  but rather requires evaluation of the breasteeding parent, infant and feeding.  So even if you are a primary care provider of one member of the breastfeeding dyad, it is important to  be aware of concerns for the whole dyad.  Case discussions throughout the course are presented with history, exam, assessment and plan for evaluation of all three (breastfeeding parent, infant, and feeding)

3. Fundamentals: The fundamentals section reviews milk supply physiology, latch, and infant weight gain.

4. Practical skills: Video demonstration and instruction on practical skills including hand expression, supplementing at the breast, massage, and reverse pressure softening.

5. Challenges:  The bulk of the course focuses on assessing and managing breastfeeding challenges encountered in the first weeks postpartum  including latching difficulties, sore nipples, engorgement, delayed lactogenesis, jaundice, ankyloglossia, and late preterm infants

Families are more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding if their primary care providers support them!

Increasing training during medical school and residency not only will support trainees in meeting their own goals when they have children, it also improves knowledge, attitude, and confidence when caring for patients.

Nationally the majority of families are initiating breastfeeding.  There is general recognition that breastfeeding is important.   Now we need to empower our health care providers and families with the skills to navigate the first weeks postpartum so they can continue breastfeeding and meet their goals

Pain and low milk supply are the two most common lactation problems experienced by families.

In the first weeks postpartum, addressing pain from latching, engorgement, tongue tie, and torticollis is critical.  Women are significantly more likely to wean in the first 3 weeks postpartum if pain persists.

Low milk supply or perceived low milk supply is another common cause of premature weaning.  Our management of infant weight loss, jaundice, latching, ankyloglossia, and feeding patterns in these first weeks all impacts milk production. 

Managing these conditions successfully increases the likelihood of continued breastfeeding.

We need confidence, knowledge, and skills to support families!

One study compared survey results of American Academy of Pediatrics members in 1995 compared to 2014.  This analysis revealed  that while more pediatricians recommend exclusive breastfeeding, fewer think mothers can be successful, and fewer believe that the benefits outweigh the difficulties. 

Without the knowledge and confidence to navigate these challenges, providers cannot support breastfeeding and families will wean prematurely.    

To help, we need to learn more about the common challenges encountered by families in the first weeks postpartum.