Lactation Care of Families in the Community Health Setting During the COVID Pandemic.

Background: The COVID pandemic challenged IBCLCs and other heathcare providers to determine how to meet the needs of new families while maintaining safety for both patients and caregivers. In addition, both workplace and personal stressors triggered by ongoing changes increased the risk of compassion fatigue. Program: Initial patient support was offered at a free-standing lactation medicine clinic. After office closure, lactation services moved to multiple pediatric offices. Result: Although the worksite changed after the first six weeks of the pandemic, direct patient care providing lactation support remained uninterrupted, and continues to this day. The IBCLCs are addressing the issue of compassion fatigue with awareness along with peer to peer support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]