Breastfeeding Promotion Model Development to Success and Sustainability, Maha Sarakham Hospital-การพัฒนารูปแบบการส่งเสริมการเลี้ยงลูกด้วยนมแม่สู่ความสำเร็จและยั่งยืนของโรงพยาบาลมหาสารคาม

Abstract

           Breastfeeding has been promoted in Thailand systematically under Baby Friendly Hospital policy for nearly 20 years but there was still low rate of breastfeeding.  The appropriate and practical management model was needed to achieve and consolidate the goal. 

          The aims of this study was to develop appropriate models which efficiently empowered mothers including their families to be ready for breastfeeding correctly with sustainability.  Groups of pregnant women, post partum women, families and volunteers were recruited from Maha Sarakham hospital and its community network.   The tools being used in research were knowledge test,report form,interviewing, cooperative observing and recording.  Research procedure was divided into 3 stages.

           Stage 1; develop the model to promote breastfeeding in hospital by extending services to the mothers in communities.  Having evaluated the condition by document reviewing, it was found that the proportion of breastfeeding success prior to post partum  discharge was 100 percent.  The six month breastfeeding succes rate was 64 percent with 95 percent satisfaction rate.  Stage 2; develop provincial - level breastfeeding ambassadors while implementing quality indices, supervision of volunteers’ work achievement on the aspects of knowledge, performance, home-visiting and the task performing of the network.  The ones who were able to support breastfeeding were volunteering mothers, breastfeeding volunteers, young breastfeeding ambassador and a partnership network.  The performance outcomes were found that the total 275 breastfeeding volunteers visit 1,834 post- partum mothers and helped to enhance 825 (45%) mothers to successfully feed their babies within at least six months.  The mothers’ satisfaction with home visit was 95 percent.  Breastfeeding trend was then promoted among students.  Stage 3; evaluate village-level breastfeeding ambassadors; the strategies being used were empowerment to the hospital staffers and to community leaders and creation of cooperative procedure by using future search conference technique, mutually - exchange learning / brain storming, applying lessons and using knowledge management method.  This could empower 21 villages that enhanced and supported mother on breastfeeding within communities with the empirical task performance model.

            As a result, breastfeeding in B.E.  2545-2550 increased from 16.50 percent to 44.60 percent.  Success and sustainability of mother breastfeeding promotion model could be obtained by further adaptation deem necessary and appropriate to the contexts and groups of clients.

Key words:      model development, promotion, success, sustainability mother breastfeeding