Demystifying Infant Feeding Data to Strengthen Continuity of Care

June 28th  | 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET

How do you know where the gaps in continuity of care in your community are?  How do you measure the impact and success of your efforts?  When are the major discontinuation of breastfeeding or supplementation happening and why? How do you know the disparity gaps in your community and where to prioritize services and resources? Both quantitative and qualitative infant feeding data should tell a story of where the lactation assets are and where Continuity of Care (CoC) gaps exist within a community. Population-level data is necessary to understand needs, drive investments, inform efforts, and support models of care that provide the best-matched services for family units in the context of their needs and resources. The availability of quality county or community-level infant feeding data that is stratified by race and ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic status is essential to understanding how to inform priority efforts and specific resources to improve CoC equitably. In general, several local entities collect breastfeeding data on a regular basis, but the type of data collected, and indicators may not align with each other and are not easily accessible by others outside of the organization.

This session will discuss data in a non-intimidating, conversational way, highlighting the need for easily accessible, stratified local infant feeding data to understand the community CoC story, and the importance of joining efforts with community stakeholders serving pregnant and postpartum families to streamline data collection, reporting, and sharing. You will hear from current Blueprint grantees and REACH recipients across the country that are pioneering and advancing the understanding of their community chest/breastfeeding data. You will also hear first-hand about the Blueprint’s Continuity of Care Data Tools that will be available to the public.