Lay summary
This proposal will activate urgent research for maternity services. Preliminary results from our pilot study involving a representative group of māmās in Palmerston North (PN) in 2023 have found that negotiating informed consent to use pasteurised donor human milk (PDHM) was difficult for women and their families immediately after childbirth. Failure to secure informed consent promptly meant mothers and babies were not gaining the full benefits of PDHM. Conversations with our collaborators from PN Hospital have confirmed that health professionals who work with those mothers and newborns faced the same challenges in securing informed consent. This demonstrates an unmet need for adequate informed consent timing and processes. We propose to develop clinical guidelines for the consenting process and appropriate opportunities to introduce PDHM from health professionals and supportive organisations. Such guidelines will support health professionals in providing optimal care for mothers and hospitalised infants as part of breastfeeding support strategies.