The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued new recommendations supporting primary care behavioral counseling to promote breastfeeding, as outlined in a final recommendation statement published on April 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Carrie D. Patnode, Ph.D., M.P.H., and her team from the Kaiser Permanente Evidence-based Practice Center in Portland, Oregon, conducted a systematic review of existing research to update the 2016 USPSTF breastfeeding recommendations. The review included 90 trials with nearly 50,000 participants. The results showed limited and mixed evidence regarding the impact of breastfeeding support interventions on infant health outcomes and maternal mental health, including anxiety and depression. However, the analysis did show positive associations between breastfeeding support and both any and exclusive breastfeeding at six months (any breastfeeding: risk ratio, 1.13; exclusive breastfeeding: risk ratio, 1.46). No significant effects were observed on breastfeeding initiation or continuation at 12 months.
Based on these findings, the USPSTF concluded that primary care behavioral counseling to support breastfeeding provides a moderate net benefit, with moderate certainty. As a result, the task force recommends such interventions or referrals during pregnancy and postpartum (B recommendation).
In an accompanying editorial, the authors emphasized the importance of breastfeeding and the crucial role primary care clinicians play in providing this support.
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