Healthcare professionals’ perspectives on their role in milk donation: an Australian qualitative study

Résumé fourni par la source

The sustainability of milk banking services depends on recruiting donors who are willing and able to donate. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) often interact with women during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care, making them well-positioned to promote awareness of milk donation amongst potential donors and support women with aspects of the donation process. However, limited research has examined HCPs’ perspectives on their role in supporting milk donation. The experiences and perspectives of HCPs who work with women potentially eligible to donate to an Australian milk bank were explored using qualitative description. Fourteen HCPs across three Australian states participated in semi-structured interviews conducted between May and September 2024. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis. Five themes described how HCPs understand and enact their role in relation to milk donation: (1) Scope of HCP role in milk donation, which ranged from not viewing support for milk donation as part of their role, to indirectly supporting donation through promoting breastfeeding, to actively facilitating referrals to a milk bank; (2) Identifying potential milk donors, influenced by perceived oversupply, welfare of mother and baby, predisposition to help others, donor eligibility considerations, and bereavement circumstances; (3) Conversations about milk donation, influenced by HCPs’ confidence, knowledge, and experience (4) Facilitating milk donation, including referring potential donors to milk banks, navigating milk bank processes, and the impact of connections with milk bank staff; and (5) Informal milk sharing, which some HCPs encountered or supported when women were ineligible for formal donation or because it was more likely to benefit their client group. Across themes, HCPs described gaps in knowledge, training, clear guidance, and accessible resources that hindered the consistent provision of support for donation. HCPs recognise the importance of donor recruitment and their potential role in supporting milk donation. However, many felt inadequately prepared to have conversations about milk donation with women or facilitate donation due to limited knowledge, confidence, and organisational support. To enable HCPs to identify potential milk donors and provide informed and consistent guidance to those considering donation, access to targeted training and accessible resources are needed. Not applicable.

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