Majority of health professionals say they did not receive suitable breastfeeding training- survey

Over 90 per cent of healthcare professionals claim not to have received suitable preparation on the topic of lactation during their academic training, a new survey has revealed.

A yearly breastfeeding report, which included mostly professionals from the nursing, midwifery, pediatrics, family medicine and nutrition specialties, has found that 41 per cent of the 1,329 professionals surveyed did not receive any breastfeeding training during their formal academic education, while another 30 per cent received less than 10 hours.

The survey, conducted in July and published by the Barcelona-based start-up LactApp, has shown 60 per cent of participants said that their lactation knowledge came from subsequent training on their own initiative, with more than 20 per cent relying mainly on their own personal experience or that of their close environment.

Previous data has shown healthcare staff often lack the necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills to offer women effective support to breastfeed.

A study from 2016, published in the International Breastfeeding Journal, concluded that there is a critical need for research to address breastfeeding education and training needs of multidisciplinary healthcare staff.

“These data highlight the need to improve breastfeeding training throughout all healthcare careers,” said LactApp co-founder, Alba Padró.

“One of the main factors that influence breastfeeding success is having the right support. This is why health professionals of all specialties need to be well-trained because every professional who attends to breastfeeding mothers must be able to do so properly,” she added.

Highlighting the scale of the problem, the LactApp report has referenced 12 international scientific publications that provided data from different regions where a lack of education still exists.

Maria Berruezo, LactApp co-founder, said: The healthcare system must include studying this vital process in women’s sexual and reproductive health, as this has a great impact on global public health data.”