Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
[A quality improvement study to increase the breastfeeding rate in very preterm infants in the neonatal intensive
Xiao-Xiao Zhang1, Yang Qin1, Ai-Qin Zhang1
1Department of Pediatrics, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital/State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Beijing 100730, China.
Objectives:
To increase the breastfeeding rate of very preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Methods:
The baseline period was January to December 2023, during which the breastfeeding rate for very preterm infants in the NICU of Cangzhou People's Hospital was 75%. The quality improvement period was January to December 2024, with a target to increase the rate by 10 percentage points. Effective improvement measures were identified using the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle. Reasons for not receiving breast milk were analyzed, and a key driver diagram was constructed to guide targeted actions. A run chart was used to dynamically monitor monthly breastfeeding rates until the quality improvement goal was achieved.
Results:
Seventy very preterm infants were included in the baseline group and 72 in the intervention group. The run chart showed that breastfeeding rate increased to 89% after implementation of the improvement measures, an increase of 14 percentage points from baseline, showing a statistically significant difference (P=0.039). No severe adverse events related to kangaroo care or donor milk-associated infections were reported.
Conclusions:
Multidimensional quality improvement strategies based on the PDSA cycle significantly increase the breastfeeding rate of very preterm infants in the NICU.
