Lactation Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Keeping Our Distance but Remaining Connected

Abstract

ObjectiveThe Center for Perinatal Education and Lactation at NYU Langone Hospitals, in one of the initial epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, due to state and local mandates, had to abruptly cancel all in-person educational sessions and support groups. Determining how to best provide prenatal and postnatal breastfeeding support became a major challenge and we had to expediently identify innovative avenues to continue to provide guidance and support for our expectant and new families.DiscussionThis article discusses how the NYU Langone Hospitals Lactation Department creatively revised the approach to prenatal and post discharge breastfeeding support by implementing a telehealth format which commenced in March of 2020 and by expanding post discharge telephone support. We were able to successfully transition rapidly into providing lactation education and post discharge via a virtual framework during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic and we increased our telephone support for vulnerable dyads.ConclusionA virtual technology format is a viable alternative means of providing lactation education and supporting optimal infant feeding within the context of the COVOD-19 pandemic. Virtual platforms could reasonably become the permanent way of delivering lactation guidance and support for the foreseeable future.