Policies and Practices in a Cohort of Mississippi Birthing Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Breastfeed Med
; 18(2): 138-148, 2023 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2251922
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives:
Guidance around maternity care practices and infant feeding during the COVID-19 pandemic changed over time and was sometimes conflicting. Hospital maternity practices influence breastfeeding, an important preventive strategy against viral illness. Most birthing hospitals in Mississippi are enrolled in CHAMPS, a quality improvement initiative to support breastfeeding and continuously collect maternity care data. The aims of this study were to (1) assess changes to maternity care policies in response to COVID-19, and (2) compare hospital-level breastfeeding, skin-to-skin, and rooming-in rates, at cohort hospitals, before and during the pandemic, overall and stratified by race.Methods:
Hospitals responded to a survey on maternity policies in May and September 2020 (Aim 1); hospitals submitted data on breastfeeding and maternity care practices before and during the pandemic (Aim 2). We tested for differences in survey responses using chi-squared statistics and performed an interrupted time series analysis on breastfeeding and maternity care practices data.Results:
Twenty-six hospitals responded to the May and September 2020 surveys. Hospitals used different sources to create maternity care policies, and policies differed between institutions. Trends in rates of any and exclusive breastfeeding in the hospital cohort plateaued during the pandemic, in comparison to previous gains, and rates of skin-to-skin and hospital rooming-in decreased. No differences were evident between races.Conclusions:
Policies (Aim 1) and practices in the quality improvement cohort hospitals were inconsistent during the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes measured to practices were detrimental (Aim 2). Ongoing monitoring is recommended.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Maternal Health Services
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Breastfeed Med
Journal subject:
Nutritional Sciences
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bfm.2022.0170
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