Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Sue Bell

Abstract

Breastfeeding self-efficacy is considered one of the key components of a successful breastfeeding experience. The benefits of breastfeeding are well established in the literature and have been widely communicated to the public, resulting in an increasing trend of breastfeeding initiation. However, the United States still falls short of Healthy People 2020 breastfeeding goals. The purpose of this project was to examine the effects of a standardized hospital-based prenatal breastfeeding class on breastfeeding self-efficacy. Dennis's breastfeeding self-efficacy theory was the foundation for the breastfeeding self-efficacy tool used in this project. A quasi-experimental design used a convenience sample of 30 breastfeeding class participants as the experimental group and 30 postpartum women who had no formal breastfeeding education as the control group. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (BSES-SF) was administered to the intervention group prior to the breastfeeding class, at the end of the class, prior to hospital discharge, and at 2 weeks postpartum. The control group received the survey prior to hospital discharge and at 2 weeks postpartum. Key findings indicated that participants in the breastfeeding class demonstrated a statistically significant increase in breastfeeding confidence after the class (t = 9.55(29), p = 0.00). There was no difference between the intervention and control groups at discharge (t = -.412(47), p = 0.686). Nurses and lactation professionals are in a position to evoke social change by examining the impact of breastfeeding self-efficacy and using the findings to shape breastfeeding education.

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