40 - Parent Perceptions of Pediatric Primary Care Provider Breastfeeding Support

Breastfeeding (BF) is associated with health benefits such as decreased risk for childhood infections, obesity and asthma. Parents encounter a multitude of barriers to successful BF. Pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) have the unique opportunity to provide support while BF is being established. It remains unclear how parents view BF support they receive from their child’s PCP.

Objective:

To examine parents’ perceived BF support from PCPs, including differences based on pediatric PCP type, breastfed versus formula fed, and income levels.

Design/Methods: In this cross-sectional study, U.S. parents 18 years or older who fed their child breastmilk within the last five years were recruited via Qualtrics panels to participate in an online survey. Parents were asked the type of PCP who cared for their child and how their child was primarily fed. The validated Breastfeeding Support Scale (BSS) was adapted for PCPs. Four subscales were used: general support, addressing emotional needs and BF concerns, perception of provider knowledge and trustworthiness and external factors that influence provider BF support. Two-sample t-Tests, analysis of variance, and post hoc pairwise comparisons were used to compare scores of the subscale scores based on type of PCP, how the child was fed, and income.

Results: A total of 982 participants completed surveys, including 80% women and 72% Caucasians. Regarding income, 26% reported incomes less than $35,000, 32% between $35,000-74,999, 32% between $ 75,000-149,999, and 10% $150,000 or above. Most (71.4%) parents agreed or strongly agreed that their child's PCP supported them in breastfeeding. There were no significant differences in scores on any subscales between participants with pediatricians and other PCP types. Across all subscales, parents who fed their child with any breastmilk reported statistically significant higher mean scores compared to those who formula fed (Table 1). Parents reporting incomes less than $75,000 had statistically significant lower mean scores across all 4 subscales than parents with reported incomes of $75,000 or greater (Table 2).

Conclusion(s): Study findings illustrate potential disparities in perceived breastfeeding support. BF support did not differ by provider type, suggesting that many pediatric PCPs are well positioned to support parents. Future studies should investigate BF related challenges that pediatric PCPs can address, particularly in parents of lower incomes.