Gary Freed was among the first to recognize the need to improve breastfeeding education for physicians. A self-administered questionnaire mailed to 1099 family medicine residents and 665 recently board-certified family medicine physicians assessed knowledge, attitudes, education, and activity related to breastfeeding promotion. Response rates were 71% for residents and 58% for physicians.

“Although residents and physicians were strongly convinced that family physicians should be involved in breastfeeding promotion, both groups demonstrated significant deficits in knowledge about breastfeeding benefits and clinical management strategies. Common errors included inappropriate recommendations for breastfeeding termination or formula supplementation, a proven cause of breastfeeding failure. Personal breast-feeding experience was the only factor consistently associated with more frequent breastfeeding promotion activity among residents and increased self-confidence for both groups. Respondents reported only limited opportunities for developing breastfeeding counseling skills during residency training,” said Freed.

The authors concluded, “Residency training and continuing education programs should emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding, clinical management strategies, and development of practical counseling skills.”

DiGirolamo and colleagues, in a similar survey conducted nearly ten years later, found that many women still reported receiving neutral or non-positive breastfeeding messages from their health caregivers and hospital staff. A perceived neutral attitude was linked to shorter duration of breastfeeding (less than 6 weeks).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a 2005 report titled, “The CDC Guide to Breastfeeding Interventions”, found that while professional education may be a prerequisite for the success of other breastfeeding interventions, a Cochrane review found that professional education alone may not directly improve breastfeeding rates.

Despite evidence that knowledgeable health workers affect breastfeeding initiation and duration, many health workers (physicians, nurses, midwives, nutritionists etc.) still report receiving little or no breastfeeding education.

So what’s a doctor or nurse to do?

The Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington State has developed a series of modules, “Increasing Breastfeeding Success, Why it Matters and What the Research Shows”, specifically designed to educate physicians and their staff. Each module is evidence-based and approximately 60 minutes in length. Each contains a PowerPoint presentation with notes, learning objectives, discussion questions on how to improve practice, educational handouts, a pre- and post-test, an evaluation form, a list of references from peer-reviewed publications, and suggestions for implementation.

A peer-to-peer educational module guided the development of the modules. The intent is that physicians with knowledge of lactation management will serve as faculty. In the event physician presenters are not available, International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) or other health workers with lactation expertise are encouraged to present the modules.

Here’s the best part. The educational modules are FREE for Washington State residents and only $23 for non-residents (this price includes shipping and handling).

Your chance to ‘get educated’ just got easier. Now you don’t have any excuse!