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Laura Beth Chamberlain, BA1, Anne Merewood, MA, IBCLC2, Kirsten Malone, IBCLC1, Sabrina Cimo, MPH2, and Barbara L. Philipp, MD, IBCLC2. (1) The Breastfeeding Center, Boston Medical Center, YACC 5, 860 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02467, 617 414 6466, laurabeth.chamberlain@bmc.org, (2) Division of General Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Maternity Building, 4th Floor, 91 East Concord St., Boston, MA 02118
Background: Breastfeeding duration rates are especially low in inner-city populations. The implementation of Boston Medical Center’s Baby-Friendly status helped to raise breastfeeding initiation rates from 58% (1995) to 87% (1999). A breastfeeding telephone warmline was established to further support mothers once they leave the hospital, enabling them to breastfeed longer. No substantial reports exist in the literature to record the level of need for a breastfeeding support line in the urban setting, or to record the needs of inner-city and minority women accessing a telephone support line. Objective: The goal of this study was to analyze calls to the warmline in its first five years of operation, January 1999-December 2003. Method: Information about each call was recorded on a standardized coding sheet and entered into a computer database for analysis. Results: A total of 2482 reasons were given for 1959 calls received over five years. The main reason for calls was, need help obtaining a breast pump, or need information about breast pumps (44% 1096/2482); followed by mother’s breast issue (7%; 181/2482); and information about milk supply (7%; 167/2482). Seventy two percent of calls concerned infants under three months. In 71% (1376/1959) of cases the mother was the caller and in 24% (471/1959) of cases a health care professional was the caller. In 2002 and 2003, 88% (662/756) of calls about pumps were about obtaining breast pumps, 12% (94/756) of calls were about problems with existing pumps. Conclusion: The results indicate that inner-city women seek out breastfeeding support and demonstrate a substantial need for breast pumps, suggesting the lack of breast pumps is a hitherto undocumented barrier to breastfeeding in this community.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Breast Feeding, Community
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.