Using Skype for Breastfeeding Consultation: Maternal Response to Experience

There is a tremendous drive to incorporate new technologies into the healthcare realm, especially when these technologies increase access to care for hard-to-reach populations. The use of voice and video-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) technology, such as Skype, holds great potential for performance of relatively low-cost assessment, diagnosis, and referral of medical breastfeeding issues. Providing access to a highly trained International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), via internet, could benefit a large number of women and infants who live in rural or underserved communities and who are at risk for early weaning. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to test the feasibility, accuracy, and acceptability of using Skype for remote breastfeeding support, by recruiting 30 mother/infant pairs and comparing the outcome of consultation modes. Mothers were consulted via internet and in-person, by two different IBCLCs. Though the literature generally supports patient satisfaction with this technology, the novelty of transmitting exposed breasts over the internet warranted investigation into maternal response to this experience. Communication between the remote IBCLC and the mother/infant pair occurred in a highly controlled setting (the same building), allowing for assurance of security and completion of the referral process. Within three days of participation in this project, mothers were contacted via telephone and were interviewed, using primarily open-ended questions, regarding their general satisfaction and comfort level with the internet consult. Results of these conversations will be presented, along with successes and challenges of implementation of such a project. Expanding this project to phase 2 (increasing distance) will also be discussed.