website | qiclearn.com Twitter | @qiclearn GOT MILK? Improving the Knowledge and Confidence of Breastfeeding Mothers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Dr Kiran Rahim 1 Homerton Univeristy Hospital PROBLEM • The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. • Mothers can experience anxiety and feel unsupported by healthcare professionals • The advice is often incorrect, unstructured and not evidence based. BACKGROUND • Breastfeeding contributes to the short and long term health of both mother and child. • NICE recommends that women should be made aware of these benefits and those that choose to breastfeed should be SUPPORTED by a service that is structured and evidence based! AIM Improve the knowledge and confidence of breastfeeding mothers on the Neonatal Unit over the next four months. Measures • Confidence of mothers in breastfeeding/expressing on a scale of 1 to 5 • Knowledge of mothers on benefits of breastfeeding on a scale of 1 to 5. Change Ideas • Information sheet in expressing room • Interactive breastfeeding session at the parents coffee morning PDSA PLAN DO STUDY ACT The Big D: DATA! Those Who Reflect, LEARN! • I was driven by own experiences on NICU to improve the confidence and knowledge of breastfeeding mothers on NICU. • Mothers demonstrated substantial growth in both knowledge and confidence once they had the right SUPPORT in place and when they felt LISTENED to. • We need to continue to develop an evidence based and supportive breastfeeding service ! Contact email: [email protected] Acknowledgements: Dr Emma Parish, Nikki Davey, Kate, our lovely breastfeeding Nurse and Dr Swee Fang for their help and advice with this project