Furthering Equity Through Infant Feeding EDucation and Support (FEEDS)

December 6, 2025 updated by: Ann Borders, Endeavor Health

Clinically Integrated Breastfeeding Peer Counseling to Promote Breastfeeding Equity

The purpose of this study is to identify whether adding clinically integrated breastfeeding peer counseling (ci-BPC) to standard lactation care is associated with a reduction in disparities in breastfeeding intensity and duration for Black and Hispanic/Latine families.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

FEEDS is a randomized control trial comparing standard lactation care to standard lactation care plus a ci-BPC. This trial will take place at three hospitals in the Chicago land area, Swedish Hospital, Highland Park Hospital, and University of Chicago Medicine Hospital. The aims of the study are: (1) To determine whether ci-BPC reduces disparities in breastfeeding outcomes for Black and Hispanic/Latine participants, (2)To determine whether ci-BPC improves breastfeeding knowledge, attitude, access to support, and empowerment, (3) To understand implementation outcomes, facilitators, and barriers, and (4) To identify associated patient centered costs.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
990

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60625
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
        • Recruiting
        • UChicago Medicine Hospital (University of Chicago)
        • Contact:
      • Evanston, Illinois, United States, 60201
        • Not yet recruiting
        • Endeavor Health (NorthShore University HealthSystem)
        • Contact:
      • Highland Park, Illinois, United States, 60035
        • Recruiting
        • Highland Park Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 45 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 12 and 24 weeks gestation
  • English or Spanish speaking
  • Planning to parent their infant
  • Planning to deliver at SH, HPH or UCM
  • No prior exposure to ci-BPC

Exclusion Criteria:

  • considering pregnancy termination or adoption
  • Prior exposure to ci-BPC

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Standard of care
Standard lactation care is provided by postpartum RNs on the inpatient unit and RNs who are board certified in lactation (IBCLCs).Postpartum RNs provide support to all patients post delivery with direct breastfeeding, breast pump use, and addressing routine breastfeeding concerns. IBCLCs provide direct lactation care for more complicated lactation problems and is delivered in a dosed manner based on the nature of the lactation problem, with low-risk patients often having no encounters.
Active Comparator: ci-BPC with Standard of Care
In addtion to normal standard of care (as described above), patients will also receive clinically-integrated breastfeeding peer counseling (ci-BPC) from a Peer Counselor at four timepoints throughout the perinatal period. The encounters will take place either in person or virtually and include: an intake encounter between 2- and 30 weeks gestation, a dedicated prenatal infant feeding education encounter, at least one inpatient encounter post-delivery during the delivery admission, and at least one postpartum encounter. Patients will also have access to a "warmline" that will include phone follow up by the next business day.
Behavioral: Ci-BPC with Standard of Care (SOC)
Clinically-integrated breastfeeding peer counseling (ci-BPC) is a practice that, supports the patient and the clinical care team by delivering culturally-appropriate breastfeeding help to motivate breastfeeding initiation, intensity, and duration, inspiring confidence for patients to set breastfeeding goals and meet them. ci-BPC is delivered by community health workers who have breastfed an infant, and have received basic training in breastfeeding support through a qualified BPC training organization. For this project, the Peer Counselor will make initial contact to patients randomized into the treatment arm via phone to schedule the Intake Encounter between 20 and 30 weeks gestation. Subsequently, each patient will receive a minimum of 3 additional encounters which can occur virtually or in-person. Patients randomized to the ci-BPC arm are additionally offered access to a "warmline" where messages will be returned by the next business day.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Breastfeeding duration
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
Total length of time in weeks that breastmilk feeds were provided to the infant, collected via participant self-report.
6 weeks postpartum
Breastfeeding duration
Time Frame: 6 months postpartum
Total length of time in weeks that breastmilk feeds were provided to the infant, collected via participant self-report.
6 months postpartum

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Breastfeeding intensity-inpatient
Time Frame: During Delivery Admission
Proportion of infant feedings during the delivery admission that are breastmilk only. Number of breastmilk feeds will be divided by the total number of infant feedings.
During Delivery Admission
Breastfeeding intensity-post discharge
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
Proportion of infant feedings that are breastmilk only. Intensity will be calculated as # breastmilk feeds/day divided by total number of infant feedings/day as recorded in the infant feeding logs completed by study participants.
6 weeks postpartum
Breastfeeding intensity-post discharge
Time Frame: 6 months postpartum
Proportion of infant feedings that are breastmilk only. Intensity will be calculated as # breastmilk feeds/day divided by total number of infant feedings/day as recorded in the infant feeding logs completed by study participants.
6 months postpartum

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Breastfeeding knowledge
Time Frame: Baseline 12-20 weeks
Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire, and questions regarding behavioral norms around breastfeeding
Baseline 12-20 weeks
Breastfeeding knowledge
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire, and questions regarding behavioral norms around breastfeeding
6 weeks postpartum
Breastfeeding knowledge
Time Frame: 6 months postpartum
Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire, and questions regarding behavioral norms around breastfeeding
6 months postpartum
Infant feeding attitude- Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS)
Time Frame: Baseline 12-20 weeks
The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitudes Scale; 26 items with a 5 point likert scale, half of which measure favorability towards breastfeeding and the remaining half measuring favorability towards formula feeding, higher scores reflect positive attitudes towards breastfeeding and lower scores reflect positive attitudes towards formula.
Baseline 12-20 weeks
Infant feeding attitude- Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS)
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitudes Scale; 26 items with a 5 point likert scale, half of which measure favorability towards breastfeeding and the remaining half measuring favorability towards formula feeding, higher scores reflect positive attitudes towards breastfeeding and lower scores reflect positive attitudes towards formula.
6 weeks postpartum
Infant feeding attitude- Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS)
Time Frame: 6 months postpartum
The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitudes Scale; 26 items with a 5 point likert scale, half of which measure favorability towards breastfeeding and the remaining half measuring favorability towards formula feeding, higher scores reflect positive attitudes towards breastfeeding and lower scores reflect positive attitudes towards formula.
6 months postpartum
Ci-BPC related costs
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
The time spent in BPC inpatient encounters, outpatient/telehealth appointments and support group sessions, travel time for BPC appointments, transportation for BPC appointments, and cellular data for telehealth BPC appointments.
6 weeks postpartum
Out of pocket cost
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
Supplies purchased for infant feeding, including breastfeeding supplies (e.g., pump and parts, storage, contained, bras, breast pads, billows), bottles, formula, and addition food cost (including supplements)
6 weeks postpartum
Feeding related opportunity costs
Time Frame: 6 weeks postpartum
Time spent feeding infants (preparation, feeding, and clean up) for type of feeding (breast milk at breast, breast milk by bottle, formula)
6 weeks postpartum

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Endeavor Health

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Northwestern University
University of Chicago
Rush University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ann Borders, MD, MS, Endeavor Health (NorthShore University HealthSystem)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 8, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 15, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 28, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 9, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 6, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • EH20-406

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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