Increasing NICU Nurses' Knowledge on Early-Start Breastfeeding at the Bedside

Abstract

By Emily Yursky, Nursing; Kennedy Wracher, Nursing; Lydia Powell , Nursing; Sierra Stepp, Nursing; Kamryn Buckman, Nursing; Ashley Huddleson, Nursing

Advisor: Mohammad Othman

Awards: Presenter Award: Excellence in Research Communication

Presentation ID: 62

Abstract: Breastfeeding educational interventions have been shown to improve Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward breastfeeding, thereby fostering a more supportive atmosphere for lactation. The purpose of this research was to increase NICU nurses' knowledge about early-start breastfeeding for infants considered preterm in a level III academic health NICU. A twenty minute education session was conducted with a goal of improving nurses' knowledge on early-initiation breastfeeding using a powerpoint presentation through Webex. A pretest/posttest design was used to gather data on the effectiveness of the educational intervention. The intervention was aimed to inform nurses about current evidence based practices for early-start breastfeeding and what their role is in implementing these practices at the bedside. The objective, post-delivery, was to overall improve nurses' knowledge about implementing early-start breastfeeding and ways to utilize the baby friendly hospital initiative in day to day practice at the bedside. After comparison of pre and post-test data following the intervention, 72.7% of the nurses submitted that they felt they only had a moderate amount of knowledge of the breastfeeding pathway prior and 81.8% of the nurses submitted that they have excellent knowledge of the breastfeeding pathway after our presentation . This increase in data showed us that our presentation was successful in educating the NICU nurses and could potentially lead to more interventions where knowledge gaps are found.