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CME Credit Offered
CME Credit Offered
Abstract Award
Abstract Award
Recording available 2/16-5/2
Recording available 2/16-5/2
AIUM Credit
AIUM Credit
Foundation Awardee
Foundation Awardee
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Abstract Award
Abstract Award
Foundation Awardee
Foundation Awardee

Poster Session 2

Category: Obstetric Quality and Safety

Poster Session 2

(545) Improving Human Milk Education for OB/GYN Residents: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Wednesday, February 11, 2026
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM  
Objective:
Human Milk Feeding (HMF) has well-documented benefits for infants and lactating individuals. In 2024, our institution’s term nursery had a 45% exclusive HMF rate upon discharge. OB/GYN residents reported receiving limited education in providing HMF counseling to patients. In efforts to support both our residents and their patients, a Quality Improvement (QI) initiative to improve resident education on HMF was implemented.

Study Design:
A QI initiative started with a chart review of prenatal care visits to assess baseline HMF counseling documentation among residents. Next, a structured resident educational curriculum was given over a six-month period. Residents participated in HMF education with pre- and post-education surveys for didactic knowledge, self-efficacy, and clinical exposure. Data was analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results:
Baseline documentation of patients who received prenatal care and delivered at our institution showed that only 51% had any documentation of a discussion of HMF during their prenatal care. Sixteen residents participated in the HMF curricula; six completed both pre- and post-education surveys. Residents’ didactic knowledge scores improved, but this was not statistically significant (p=0.16 paired). Residents’ self-efficacy to adequately address patient concerns about HMF showed statistically significant improvement (p=0.038 paired, p=0.005 unpaired). In post-education assessment of residents’ opinion on the influence of HMF education on their future patient care, 64% (n=11) considered this to be “neutral” or “not important”.

Conclusion:
An educational intervention improved OB/GYN resident self-efficacy and didactic knowledge in HMF counseling. An unexpected and disheartening finding was that 64% of residents considered that HMF education would have a “neutral” or “not important” influence on their future clinical practice. Our next step is to explore residents' attitudes towards HMF to guide future educational interventions to increase resident buy-in for this important yet undervalued care.