Open Collections

Andrews, Olivia

University of British Columbia

Breastfeeding is recognized as the gold standard for infant feeding. Despite this, many infants are not exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their life. To improve practices that promote and support breastfeeding, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a designation system for hospitals and health centers to help improve overall breastfeeding rates and infant care. This study aimed to examine perinatal healthcare providers’ experiences in implementing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFI) in British Columbia. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to guide this study. Purposeful and snowball sampling methods were used to identify potential participants. This resulted in 12 semi-structured interviews with 11 registered nurses, and one midwife. Of these participants, seven held international certification as lactation consultants, and two participants reported being the Baby-Friendly Health Authority Leads at their hospital. The interviews were reviewed using a thematic analysis. This process resulted in four major themes with associated sub-themes: (1) misunderstandings, overcoming resistance, and accountability; (2) Challenges with Education, effective education, and competency checklists; (3) Importance of Leadership, senior management, BFI leads, and group effort; and (4) Considering the SDOH. These findings indicate that perinatal providers often struggle during the process of receiving the Baby-Friendly designation. However, despite the difficulties in implementing BFI, 11 of the 12 participants still felt that BFI practices were important. This study provides a basis for improved knowledge of BFI implementation and suggestions for overcoming barriers.

Text

2024-12-19

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89952

Nursing

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/