Pregnancy and Postpartum Breastfeeding Support for Patients With Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is common and happens in about 8 of every 100 births. GDM can cause health problems right away and later in life. People who have GDM are 10 times more likely to get diabetes later on. Breastfeeding can help prevent diabetes. If a mother breastfeeds for 12 months or more, their chance of getting type 2 diabetes goes down by 30%. For people with GDM, not breastfeeding makes it more than twice as likely they'll get type 2 diabetes compared to those who do breastfeed. Infants also benefit-being breastfed lowers their chances of getting type 1 or type 2 diabetes later in life.

There are many barriers that people with GDM experience when breastfeeding. Compared to postpartum patients without GDM, those with GDM are 38% more likely to stop breastfeeding early. Right after birth, patients with GDM are 3.5 times less likely to be breastfeeding only (no formula) when they leave the hospital.

There are ways to help people with GDM breastfeed more, like meeting with a lactation consultant, getting help over the phone, and learning about healthy eating and exercise. But these programs aren't used much outside the hospital. Clinicians need better plans to support breastfeeding for mothers with GDM.

This study will use implementation mapping and the consolidated framework for implementation research to co-design a plan that helps mothers with GDM keep breastfeeding. The study will take place at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California over a 1-year period.

Inclusion criteria

• ≥18 years old and able to communicate in English
• Fits into one of the following:

• patients with GDM who are recently pregnant and/or postpartum;
• health care providers (nurses, physicians, lactation consultants, etc.) who would implement the strategy
• executive leadership

Exclusion criteria

• Subjects not meeting the inclusion criteria will be considered ineligible for participation