Panel: Many moms stop breast-feeding too soon; doctors should change that

Too many mothers stop breast-feeding their babies too soon, and a panel of experts says doctors, nurses and other health professionals should do more to change that.

In light of the “convincing evidence that breastfeeding provides substantial health benefits for children,” primary care providers should discuss breast-feeding with women when they are pregnant, when they are in the hospital to give birth, and after they have gone home with their newborns, according to new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that were released Tuesday.

The government’s Healthy People 2020 goals aim to have 81.9 percent of new mothers try nursing their infants, with 60.6 percent continuing to do so for six months and 34.1 percent sticking with it for a full year. In reality, while 80 percent of new mothers initiate breast-feeding, only 51.4 percent are still nursing after six months and 29.2 percent nurse for a full year.

To shrink that gap, the panel says health care providers should start encouraging women to breast-feed even before their babies are born. After delivery, they should offer one-onone counseling to help new mothers master the mechanics of nursing — something that can take a few days or weeks. If mothers need a little boost or some reassurance, doctors, nurses and lactation consultants should step in and offer “psychological support.”

However, if mothers decide that breast-feeding is not for them, clinicians should respect that choice, the panel says.

The task force, a group of experts appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, came up with this advice after evaluating dozens of medical studies about the pros and cons of breast-feeding. They concluded “with moderate certainty” that efforts to encourage breast-feeding provide “a moderate net benefit for women and their children.”