Early Care and Education Professionals' Breastfeeding Knowledge and Practices Before and After an E-Learning Program

To assess early care and education professionals' breastfeeding knowledge and practices before and after an e-learning program.

Early care and education professionals from New Hampshire (U.S.A.) licensed child care programs were invited to complete a pre-assessment followed by a 90-minute e-learning breastfeeding program. Three months post-training, participants were invited to complete the post-assessment.

McNemar tests were used to assess changes from pre-post-assessment for dichotomous variables. McNemar-Bowker tests were used to determine differences from pre-post for variables with more than two categories. When the McNemar-Bowker test was significant, a multiple comparison correction (Bonferroni) was used.

114 participants completed the e-learning program and pre-post assessment. Results showed significant improvement from pre-post in 10 of 15 breastfeeding knowledge questions related to health of baby, mother and child care centers, economics, and environmental impact. There were significant changes from pre-post in 24 of 50 breastfeeding practice questions in handling breast milk, promoting breastfeeding, and supporting mothers.

This study indicates improvement in early care and education professionals' breastfeeding knowledge and practices; however, opportunities exist to design targeted initiatives to further strengthen practices that support breastfeeding families in the child care environment.