Breastfeeding Registry Study

Study Overview

The Breastfeeding Registry Study is a multi-site study that examines the documentation of RDNs who are providing breastfeeding or lactation support to their clients. The project will investigate the nutrition terminology currently being used in this area of care and the quality of the documentation, as well as the impact of nutrition care on problem resolution and nutrition-related outcomes in this population.

The Academy Data Science Center (DSC) is collaborating with the University of North Florida (UNF) to lead this project. This project is also being conducted with the help of the Academy Foundation and funding from the Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group (PNPG) and Women's Health Dietetic Practice Group (WH).

Status Update

The Breastfeeding Registry Study is now in the Dissemination Phase.

This project is one of the first to investigate nutrition care provided to infants receiving human milk and individuals providing human milk to infants. The results of this project will help us better understand the care dietitians provide to this population and the documentation of nutrition care in breastfeeding and lactation support, including the terminology being used to document this type of care.

It will also examine the impact of the nutrition care provided by dietitians on resolution of nutrition problems resolution rate and on health outcomes, including breastfeeding duration and infant weight. Participants include:

• Dietitians providing breastfeeding and lactation support to either infants or individuals providing human milk to infants from a variety of settings, including inpatient, outpatient, community programs, or private practice.
• Patients newly identified as needing nutrition care for breastfeeding/lactation support and who provide human milk to an infant at least once per day, and infants who are offered human milk at least once per day and are up to 1 year of age.

Manuscripts

Multiple manuscripts are part of a planned dissemination strategy to ensure each aspect of the study, its rationale, methodology and findings are thoroughly documented and shared with relevant audiences.

First manuscript:
Colin CR, Woodcock L, Wright LY, Yakes Jimenez E, Papoutsakis C. The Need for and Challenges of Nutrition and Dietetics Registry Studies: An Update on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Health Informatics Infrastructure. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023 Apr;123(4):673-682. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2023.01.002. Epub 2023 Jan 6. PMID: 36623691.

Second manuscript:
Woodcock L, Colin CR, Lamers-Johnson E, Papoutsakis C. The Need for and Challenges of Nutrition and Dietetics Registry Studies Part II: A Primer for the Design and Implementation of Registry Studies in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Health Informatics Infrastructure. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2025 Sep;125(9):1394-1403.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2025.05.006. Epub 2025 May 8. PMID: 40348127.

Third manuscript:
Protocol paper submitted to JAND (Sept 2024), (Under review).

Fourth manuscript:
Primary results manuscript submitted to Frontiers in Nutrition (May 2025) (Under review)

Conference Sessions

These sessions serve as key opportunities to introduce the study to diverse audiences, foster dialogue and encourage adoption of findings into practice. They help build awareness, spark collaboration and ensure the research reaches those who can apply it in real-world settings.

Advancing Breastfeeding Support: Leveraging Medical Nutrition Therapy for Improved Public Health Outcomes was presented during the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo^® (FNCE^®) Minneapolis, Minn. in October 2024.

Bottling the Power of Nutrition Care to Advance Breastfeeding Practice was presented at the International Congress of Nutrition and Dietetics (ICND) in Toronto in June 2024.