Assessment and documentation of the breastfeeding couple by health care professionals

Health care professionals have been a major source of conflicting and misleading information about breastfeeding. The role of the certified lactation consultant is to correct this problem. Documentation in the medical record is the primary method of communication between the postpartum nursing staff and the hospital-based lactation consultant. An in-service program oriented staff to the use of a breastfeeding assessment tool which systematized breastfeeding documentation; it also instructed staff in the techniques of completing such an assessment. Charts were audited before and after the program to assess changes in charting practices. Results reflected an increased likelihood of charting objective observations regarding the quality of the breastfeeding relationship.