title: Lessons Learned from Hospital Leaders Who Participated in a National Effort to Improve Maternity Care Practices and Breastfeeding.
abstract: As a method to increase exclusive and overall breastfeeding, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded the National Institute for Children's Health Quality to run a national collaborative designed to accelerate the number of Baby-Friendly-designated hospitals in the United States. A unique aspect of this project was the development of the first ever national quality improvement collaborative of hospital leaders focused on maternity care practices and breastfeeding.
  
  
  
  Members of the Leadership Track were continually engaged and surveyed throughout the project period to provide feedback on the collaborative process and project as a whole.
  
  
  
  The Leadership Track served as a vital catalyst for change, resulting in an unprecedented number of newly designated Baby-Friendly hospitals.
  
  
  
  A quality improvement Leadership Track adds value and provides lessons learned that can be applied to other complex healthcare initiatives affecting global policies and public health.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Pediatrics, Cooper University Hospital , Camden, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feldman-Winter
authors.affiliation: 2 National Institute for Children's Health Quality , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ustianov
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006293:Health Promotion; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007857:Leadership; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011247:Pregnancy; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States