Supporting breastfeeding in the early care and education setting: Providing training and resources

BACKGROUND

Best practices in the early care and education (ECE) setting emphasize the importance of providing breastfeeding support for mothers and families to encourage exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding.  ECE professionals benefit from training and resources to create breastfeeding supportive environments. The Ten Steps to Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care (BFCC) was scaled-up to provide knowledge and resources to ECE professionals to support breastfeeding families in programs across the state. 

METHODS

ECE providers participated in two-hour trainings conducted by trainers who had completed a five-hour training curriculum on breastfeeding and adult learning skills as part of a statewide scale-up project.  Trainers delivered content and resources using an interactive approach (e.g., movement, small group discussion) and visual supports (e.g., job aids). The ECE providers took part in activities that offered reflection on personal beliefs and feelings about breastfeeding; provided knowledge about breastfeeding and human milk; and discussed ways to use BFCC resources to provide a breastfeeding-friendly environment.

RESULTS

Training evaluation results indicated ECE provider support for training content and activities.  Participant responses to pre- and post-training questions suggested increased knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to breastfeeding and the use of human milk.

CONCLUSIONS

Best practices in the ECE setting include support for breastfeeding families to improve exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding.  ECE professionals benefit from a statewide training program that uses an interactive approach and visual supports to improve breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and practices. The BFCC curriculum provides knowledge, skills, and resources to help ECE professionals support breastfeeding families in their programs.