Collaboration Aims to Provide Virtual Breastfeeding Support

A partnership between Nest Collaborative and Kettering Health aimed to provide prenatal and postpartum assistance through the implementation of virtual breastfeeding support services available seven days a week.

Based in Ohio, Kettering Health is a nonprofit system that consists of Kettering College, 120 outpatient facilities, and 14 medical centers that are all located in the Dayton and Cincinnati area. Located in Farmington, Connecticut, Nest Collaborative is known for creating the nation's first virtual lactation platform. The company also seemingly prides itself on having a network of lactation consultants that can assist parents with same-day virtual consults available all days of the week, in all 50 states, and in 11 different languages.

Driven by the desire to eliminate breastfeeding complications, those affiliated with Kettering Health believe that the collaboration will thrive in supporting patients.

"Kettering Health's collaboration with Nest Collaborative is a wonderful supplementation and support to our robust lactation program," said Michelle Beebe, MPH, BSN, CCE, Manager of Childbirth Education and Perinatal Outreach at Kettering Health, in a press release. "Our goal is to reduce barriers to breastfeeding and Nest Collaborative makes expert consults available for new mothers, even at night and on the weekends."

Despite the notorious success of Kettering Health in supporting patients who are breastfeeding, the prioritization of postpartum care for new mothers often leads to limited time for the provision of prenatal education that informs families of breastfeeding preparation steps. However, Nest Collaborative lactation consultants will assist Kettering Health in completing the steps they may not get to.

"Nest Collaborative's diverse, experienced lactation consultants fill in gaps our outpatient clinic may not be able to support," continued Beebe. "We have rural moms who have trouble driving in for support prenatally, and career moms who can't make it in during working hours. And we have inner city challenges where it can take a person two hours on a bus to go to a clinic and then turn around and ride home. Now they can get quality lactation care in their own homes, with consultants who look like them and, for non-native English speakers, who speak their language."

Similarly, in October, Avera Health aimed to improve maternal care outcomes, particularly among rural residents, after receiving funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. Specifically, Avera sought to increase access to obstetrics services while improving outcomes such as pre-term labor, low birth weight, and infant mortality.

Another study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in July found that replacing in-person maternal healthcare with virtual approaches led to positive clinical outcomes and solid levels of patient satisfaction. This was particularly the case when virtually treating mental health conditions, general maternal care, and diabetes during pregnancy.

The study also concluded that strategies such as phone-based psychotherapy and home monitoring devices led to reduced anxiety and depression, along with higher patient satisfaction levels among those searching for maternal care.