Breastfeeding education for early discharge: a three-tiered approach

Discharge teaching has presented many challenges since 48-hour stays have become routine for uncomplicated obstetric patients and their term infants. Sleepy infants, lack of maternal psychologic readiness, and lack of a full milk supply may frustrate efforts to teach breastfeeding during this limited time frame. The key is to develop a three-tiered teaching approach that includes affective, psychomotor, and cognitive learning during the antepartum, immediate postpartum, and long-term postpartum course. This approach focuses on: (1) the mother's critical concerns and the infant's critical biologic needs during breastfeeding initiation and (2) a collaborative approach that enhances the overall success of breastfeeding continuation.