Background: Support from healthcare professionals has been identified as an important variable affecting successful breastfeeding in preterm infants. This study aimed to explore the knowledge of healthcare providers regarding breastfeeding preterm infants in mainland China.
Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of healthcare providers from 9 tertiary level neonatal intensive care units across 4 districts in mainland China was conducted from May-November, 2017. A total of 187 healthcare providers responded to the survey. Data included demographic information and current and desired knowledge about breastfeeding preterm infants. Breastfeeding knowledge was evaluated using a researcher-developed questionnaire with six domains based on breastfeeding preterm infant guidelines.
Results: The average percent of correctly answered questions was 53.73%. The domain with the highest mean percent was 'indications and methods of breastfeeding' (64.41%). The lowest scoring domain was 'characteristics of premature human milk' (38.83%). Knowledge score was related to the following factors: age, profession, professional title, education background and offspring amount by univariate analysis (p < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis found that healthcare provider breastfeeding knowledge was associated with profession (physician or nurse), professional title, sex and total offspring. In terms of training needs, 86.7% of healthcare providers reported insufficient knowledge about breastfeeding in the preterm infant population; 82.2% wanted more knowledge about indications and contraindications related to breastfeeding premature infant; and 71.7% considered expert lectures as the most effective way of acquiring additional breastfeeding knowledge.
Conclusion: The knowledge about breastfeeding in the preterm infant population among NICU healthcare professionals in mainland China was limited. More targeted training is needed to improve NICU healthcare provider knowledge regarding breastfeeding preterm infants.
Keywords: Healthcare providers; Knowledge; NICU; Preterm infants; breastfeeding; Training needs.