Perspectives of hospital-based nurses on breastfeeding initiation best practices.

Objective: To assess the variation in breastfeeding knowledge and practices of registered nurses in hospital women and family-care units and the informal and formal hospital policies related to the initiation and support of breastfeeding.

Design: This qualitative study employed a focus group approach to solicit perceptions of hospital-based nurses regarding breastfeeding best practices.

Setting: Eight state hospitals stratified by socioeconomic status (SES) and size served as settings to recruit participants for this study.