Feeding Babies

Course Overview

This Course will address four aspects of feeding success in babies under 6 months old and look at how successful infant feeding is not just dependent on how much the baby drinks, but also how the feeding relationship and environment contribute to success or struggle.

Topics

• Establishment of infant feeding
• Common problems with feeding
• Assessing a feed
• Development of a management plan

Need

Exclusive breastfeeding is the globally accepted gold standard for feeding infants up until at least 6 months of age, with Australian government dietary guidelines confirming that this “provides babies with the best start in life and is a key a contributor to infant health.” However, there are some instances in which a mother cannot breastfeed her infant.

Whilst breastfeeding education is available in many formats, a broader education for the parents of this large number of infants being bottle-fed is imperative. It is essential that health professionals are well equipped to provide help to parents who struggle with worries about their baby feeding need to receive help before the problems become entrenched.

Purpose

The purpose of this Course is to provide a better understanding of the broad range of factors affecting successful feeding, consequently ensuring confidence in assessing infant feeding and being able to advise parents what approach will be most effective.

Learning Outcomes

• Use your understanding of feeding development to educate mothers in order to ensure appropriate development is occurring
• Identify common problems with feeding to implement early interventions to improve nutritional intake of the infant
• Use knowledge of effective assessment techniques to assess a feed to ensure improved outcomes for both mother and infant
• Link management strategies with best practice to formulate a management plan to minimise the risk of poor feeding practices developing

Target Audience

This Course is most relevant to midwives and nurses working with young babies, including those working in paediatric or neonatal settings, as well as maternal and child health nurses.

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in the position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educator

Michele Meehan

Michele Meehan is a Maternal and Child Health Nurse currently working in her private practice, 'Parenting Matters', and lecturing on child health topics. Prior to this, she worked for 30years at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, as a Clinical Nurse Consultant. Michele holds a Master’s Degree in Health Science - Parent and Infant Mental Health, and wrote her minor thesis on the topic of 'Infant food refusal'. Her qualifications also include midwifery, community health nursing, health education and counselling and psychotherapy. See Educator Profile