Hospital FAQs: Maternity Care Practices

How do I get a copy of my facility’s mPINC report?

• 2018 and 2020 Hospital Reports: An electronic version of each hospital’s report was sent to the work e-mail of the survey recipient. If you are unable to locate your hospital’s mPINC report, please e-mail mpinc@cdc.gov with your request and include the hospital name and address.

How do hospitals benefit from participation in the mPINC survey?

• Once data collection and analysis are complete, we send participating hospitals an individualized report with a summary of their survey results and a comparison of their results to the nation, the region, and to other hospitals of similar size. Hospitals can use these results to celebrate strengths as well as identify areas for improvement in their practices and policies that affect infant feeding.

What kind of questions does the survey ask?

• The mPINC survey contains six core sections and an additional section for hospitals with a Special Care Nursery or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The six core sections cover: hospital demographics and data, early postpartum care practices, feeding practices, education and support of mothers and caregivers, staff and provider responsibilities and training, and hospital policies and procedures.

To whom do you send the mPINC survey?

• Each time we administer a new survey we call the hospital switchboard and ask for the mother-baby nurse manager or, if not available, for the manager of the labor and delivery unit. After determining eligibility, we ask that manager to identify the best person to complete a survey that includes questions about infant nutrition, such as breastfeeding, using formula to feed healthy newborns, and feeding routines. Because we follow the same process each time that we administer a new survey, the person identified to receive the survey one year is not necessarily the person identified to receive the survey in a later cycle.

Who completes the mPINC survey?

• We do not collect the name(s) of the individual(s) who completed the mPINC survey. No single person may be best able to answer all of the survey questions, so we encourage the person completing the survey to obtain input from other key personnel, as needed.

Can the mPINC survey be sent to me to be filled out?

• No. It is extremely important for the validity of the survey that we follow the same protocol to identify the survey recipients at each hospital as described above. It may be helpful for you to talk with the mother-baby nurse manager(s) or the labor and delivery unit manager(s) at your hospital to describe the purpose and timing of the mPINC survey. Let these managers know that they may receive a phone call from Battelle, CDC’s contractor, about the mPINC survey and discuss with her or him the best person to respond to the survey on behalf of your hospital.

Are the survey responses kept confidential?

• Yes. All responses are treated in a secure manner and are not disclosed unless required by law. The name of the hospital and individuals who complete the survey, and any other personal identifiers, will not be included in either oral or written presentation of survey results. We will only report responses in summary form so individual responses cannot be identified. We will combine data to generate state-specific, regional, and national reports. Data also may be used to answer other research questions. We may release data under data sharing agreements for additional approved purposes and we may share data with state health departments for the development of public health programs. These data sharing agreements will require adherence to data confidentiality.

Why was the mPINC survey redesigned in 2018?

• Maternity care practices and policies in the United States have changed since the first mPINC survey was administered in 2007. We redesigned the mPINC survey in 2018 to reflect these changes.

How are mPINC surveys from 2018 and later different from previous years?

• Changes to the mPINC survey beginning in 2018 include collecting data via Web only (no paper surveys), surveying hospitals only (no freestanding birth centers), and updating survey content to reflect changing maternity care practices and policies.

Why aren’t freestanding birth centers included in the revised survey?

• We no longer include freestanding birth centers in the survey because many practices assessed do not apply to the birth center setting (e.g., time spent rooming-in because stays are shorter, questions about cesarean sections) and they frequently have optimal infant feeding-related maternity care practices. In addition, less than 1% of US births occur at birth centers compared to over 98% of US births in hospitals.

Will hospitals be able to look at year-to-year trends?

• We updated the mPINC survey questionnaire in 2018. Results from the mPINC surveys 2018 and later cannot be compared with results from 2007-2015 mPINC surveys. Multiple years of data from the updated survey (i.e., 2018, 2020, and later) will be comparable.

How can I keep up-to-date on the status of the mPINC survey?

• CDC developed a CDC-mPINC-UPDATE listserv to inform hospitals and other partners about future mPINC surveys and provide periodic updates on the status of the mPINC survey and related information. Signing up for this listserv is voluntary, and most messages will be sent during mPINC data collection, which is typically about 6 months every other year. Listserv participants may opt out at any time. If you have questions about the mPINC survey or would like to sign up for the listserv, please email mPINC@cdc.gov with your full name and email address. Your contact information will in no way be connected to survey responses or scores.

Still have questions?

• For more information, email mPINC@cdc.gov.