Applying QI methods to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates in US hospitals

Responding to the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Breastfeeding Quality, the Best Fed Beginnings initiative is helping hospitals improve exclusive breastfeeding rates by improving maternity practices to better support mothers who choose to breastfeed. Sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and conducted by NICHQ (the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality), Best Fed Beginnings is a nationwide quality improvement initiative at 89 hospitals designed to increase the number of Baby-Friendly hospitals in the United States. The initiative is using quality improvement methods to accelerate the pace of change in practice and embed these evidence-based care processes into routine hospital and linked community practices. Through the 18-month quality improvement learning collaborative, hospitals are learning how to move from guidelines to measurable improvements in practice and health outcomes. This session will describe successes and challenges of using quality improvement to improve maternity care and infant feeding, and will highlight a series of improvement cycles (PDSAs) that led to improved practice and reduced unwanted variation in practice patterns, while allowing for innovation and customization at the local level.