Primary care behavioral counseling interventions to support breastfeeding have a moderate net benefit
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, April 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends primary care behavioral counseling interventions to support breastfeeding, according to a final recommendation statement published online April 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Carrie D. Patnode, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Kaiser Permanente Evidence-based Practice Center in Portland, Oregon, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the evidence on the benefits and harms of breastfeeding interventions to update the 2016 USPSTF recommendation. Ninety trials, with 49,597 participants, were included. The researchers found limited and mixed evidence on the effectiveness of breastfeeding support interventions on infant health outcomes and on maternal symptoms of anxiety, depression, and well-being. Beneficial associations were seen between breastfeeding support interventions and any or exclusive breastfeeding for up to and at six months in pooled analyses (any breastfeeding: risk ratio, 1.13; exclusive breastfeeding: risk ratio, 1.46). No relationship was seen between interventions and breastfeeding initiation or breastfeeding at 12 months.
Based on these findings, the USPSTF concludes that primary care behavioral counseling interventions to support breastfeeding have a moderate net benefit, with moderate certainty. Interventions or referrals to support breastfeeding are recommended during pregnancy and after birth (B recommendation).
“The USPSTF update on behavioral counseling for breastfeeding support in primary care reaffirms the importance of breastfeeding and the critical role of primary care clinicians and practices in facilitating support,” write the authors of an accompanying editorial.
Evidence Report
Final Recommendation Statement
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