Successful Late Preterm Infant Education for WIC Breastfeeding Support: HUG Your Baby’s Digital Training and Resources
Objective: Late preterm infants (LPIs) have increased medical complications, lower breastfeeding rates, and confusing infant behaviors. Lactation professionals need current information and resources about LPIs to enhance LPIs’ outcomes and their parents’ confidence and care. Methods: Forty-three staff from South Dakota Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) completed HUG Your Baby’s 2-hour online LPI course and accessed HUG’s parent education video and handout. Pre- and postcourse knowledge, “clinical teaching” and “clinical confidence,” and course evaluations were analyzed using comparative statistics. Results: Statistically significant improvement occurred in knowledge scores (mean improvement: 22.68 percentage points, 95% confidence interval: [17.59, 27.77]) and across all items evaluating current and future practice (p <.05) and confidence (p <.05). Conclusions: Completion of an LPI online course with access to family-friendly parent education enhanced WIC professionals’ knowledge of LPIs and their plan and confidence to teach LPI parents. This program could enhance outpatient providers’ abilities to help LPI families meet their parenting and breastfeeding goals.
