EVIDENCE·BASED PRACTICE PROJECT REPORT Submitted to the School of Nursing and Health Professions of Colorado Christian University Lakewood, Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE Abstract Opioid use during pregnancy is on the rise. Pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD), and their unborn babies, are at high risk for poor maternal/fetal/newborn outcomes. Interprofessional collaboration among community health professionals can assist these women toward freedom from opioid use during pregnancy and beyond utilizing education, support, and treatment. Community professionals provide services to support bonding, lactation/breastfeeding, family unity, and parenting skills. The purpose of this DNP scholarly project was to develop a comprehensive “Breastfeeding Toolkit” based on evidence-based practice to facilitate insight among community health professionals on the unique benefits of breastfeeding for the woman with OUD and her newborn. A mixed-method design was employed with both quantitative and qualitative data gathered. The primary interventions were an educational webinar on breastfeeding benefits with OUD and the "Breastfeeding Toolkit." Pre-education, post-education, and final surveys were used to gather quantitative information to determine breastfeeding expertise, breastfeeding with OUD, and attitudes toward breastfeeding with OUD. Open-ended questions to obtain qualitative information were used, and then themes were derived from the responses. Statistical analysis of the quantitative data using the two-tailed paired samples t-test found revealed five questions with significance (p-value = ≤ .05) between the pre- and final-surveys. The qualitative data analysis revealed five themes: decrease in opioid withdrawal symptoms, increased bonding/attachment, health benefits, risk reduction, and educational resources. The results demonstrated that comprehensive education and the "Breastfeeding Toolkit" designed for community health professionals improved interprofessional support of breastfeeding and enhanced the unique care needs of this vulnerable population. Keywords perinatal substance abuse, neonatal abstinence syndrome/neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, opioid use disorder, community care, opioid use in pregnancy and lactation, and neonates/newborns/infants