Going the Distance: Increasing Breastfeeding Duration for Post-NICU Infants

Premature infants are a vulnerable population with an increased risk for health problems and developmental delays. Breast milk has been positively linked to improved development and is widely recommended as the exclusive infant nutrition source for the first 6 months of life. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to decrease breastfeeding attrition rates through both provider and caregiver education.

The project took place at an outpatient developmental practice following infants recently discharged from the NICU. Breast milk attrition by 4 months postconception age (PCA) was 45%. A provider education session was conducted, a reliable breast milk data collection method was workshopped, and a caregiver education packet was developed and distributed to caregivers at their intake visit to reach the project goal of 35% attrition.

Breast milk attrition decreased from 45% to 35% throughout the project's duration. Healthcare staff reported 100% satisfaction with provided education, higher than the project goal of 80%. Quantitative and qualitative parental feedback strongly supported the project's interventions.

A focused conversation about breast milk and its benefits with the child's caregiver and a child's developmental provider, combined with ongoing support, demonstrated an increase in the length of time for which the child received breast milk.