Issue 32:2 Breastfeeding and Baby-Friendly is one of many issues the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing has done on the topic of breastfeeding. There is a Breastfeeding Classics Collection online at the Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing Web site. This particular issue presents a range of new topics across the breastfeeding spectrum.
The Perinatal Section opens with a Commentary by Johnston on Incorporating Father-Friendly Breastfeeding Language in Maternity Settings. It identifies 4 father-friendly breastfeeding resources useful to incorporate fathers more fully into the breastfeeding process.
Robinson et al. present a systematic review and meta-analysis on The Effectiveness of Centering Pregnancy to promote breastfeeding initiation among African American women. More high-quality nursing research on breastfeeding outcomes for African American women in centering pregnancy is needed.
Cadwell et al showcase How the United States ranks according to the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative. They identify the absence of a national infant feeding policy, insufficient maternity protection, and lack of preparation for infant and young children feeding in emergencies as key targets for a new concerted national effort on breastfeeding.
Krauss and Sharp present the manuscript, Baby Friendly as a Regional Collaborative Quality Improvement Project, in an Academic Medical Center Environment. This quality improvement project notes the invaluable membership in the Best Fed Beginning Regional Collaborative as a major incentive in becoming baby friendly within a short period of time at a major medical center.
The analysis and summary of 2 Cochrane publications on Antenatal Breastfeeding Education and Support are documented by Jacobsen. Scant evidence exists to support any specific support efforts or educational outreach to improve these outcomes. A discussion of potential strategies to consider for future research and clinical practice is put forth.
Consider perusing the Perinatal Columns: the Expert Opinion Column focuses on skin-to-skin practices in the operating room for the pregnant woman and infant; the legal and risk management column reviews delegation and the legal issues regarding assigning tasks to others, and the Parting Thoughts column provokes us to reconsider our Thinking about Teaching.
The World Health Organization, along with several child health organizations including UNICEF, emphasizes that breastfeeding is an "unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers." For this reason, we are happy to bring you 4 articles that highlight a diversity of issues related to breastfeeding in the neonatal section of this issue of the journal. The first is from Catherine Folker-Maglaya and her colleagues. In this article, the authorship team highlights the importance of ensuring optimal breastfeeding education among nursing students through the implementation of a breastfeeding tool kit, which provides a curriculum that demonstrates enhanced learning to prepare nursing students for practice. The second article is from Diane Spatz, who was the guest editor for this issue of the journal. In Dr Spatz's article, she presents her 10-step model for optimal breastfeeding, which is especially useful for newborn intensive care unit settings aiming to improve their breastfeeding outcomes. Joan Esper Kuhnly and her colleagues have identified factors that are associated with a high-sustained breastfeeding rate among late preterm and early term infants. The findings reported in this article will be useful to nurses who are aiming to improve their approach to providing breastfeeding support to late preterm and early term infants, who often face challenges when establishing and sustaining breastfeeding. Finally, Jui-Hsing Chang and colleagues report on factors that influence human milk feeding at hospital discharge for preterm infants in a tertiary neonatal care center in Taiwan. They found that just more than half of 52.8% of preterm infants were being fed human milk at hospital discharge. Compared with the formula milk group, the human milk-fed group had lower birth-weights, younger gestational age, higher rates of ventilator use, and longer hospital stays. While these differences were not statistically significant, they do shed light on some of the factors that may be influencing human milk feeding among this patient population.
As always, our columnists, Sara Rostas and Joan Smith, have each provided a thought-provoking column for our consideration and reflection. Sara responds to a letter to the editor regarding vaccination and has provided an outstanding parent information sheet that clinicians will find helpful when faced with questions from parents regarding vaccination. Joan, along with Lisa M. Steurer, discusses manual expression of breast milk, which can be an important but sometimes overlooked strategy to aid in breastfeeding success.
As always, thank you for reading The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing. Please reach out to us with any thoughts or suggestions for the journal. Please also note that we have 4 great topic areas planned for forthcoming issues of the journal: critical care, innovations in clinical practice, disparities and access to care, and emergency and disaster readiness. It is never too soon to begin preparation of a manuscript for one of these topics and we welcome your submissions!
-Diane J. Angelini, EdD, CNM, NEA-BC, FACNM, FAAN
Perinatal Editor
-Katherine E. Gregory, PhD, RN
Neonatal Editor