According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the short- and long-term medical and neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding make breastfeeding, or the provision of human milk, a public health imperative. The aim of this initiative is to provide the foundation to support a successful human milk feeding experience.
History
In 2017 with funding from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, WisPQC launched its first human milk feeding initiative. The initiative was designed across the full perinatal care spectrum with measures to track prenatal, hospital stay, and postnatal outcomes. In addition, one measure was included to track human milk feeding in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Between 2017 and 2020, over 20 hospitals providing care to newborns participated at some time.
In 2020, the initiative participants discussed revising the initiative to include a specific focus on human milk feeding disparities. In addition, they decided to remove the NICU-specific measure with longer-term plans to launch an NICU-focused initiative.
Throughout the remainder of 2020 and 2021, WAPC staff met regularly with representatives from Coffective and Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services to shape the revised initiative. The new initiative was launched on October 1, 2022 with its first cohort.