New AAP Open Access Journal Launches With Look at Support for Breastfeeding Mothers

The American Academy of Pediatrics has launched a new online journal, Pediatrics Open Science, and is debuting the publication with a study published Dec. 2, 2024, focused on how to encourage and support breastfeeding mothers. “Strategies for Improving Breastfeeding Rates: Perspectives of Public Health Staff,” hopes to provide solutions to barriers that prevent mothers from breastfeeding and other issues impacting breastfeeding mothers. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) partnered with study authors to provide focus groups for the study. Authors found that staff are able to encourage mothers to breastfeed when utilizing appropriate tools and methods. These included education around the benefits of breastfeeding, availability for in-person assistance, and normalization of breast feeding. Overall, participants reported more individualized care and short-term goal setting were very important to clients. Support could also be provided with material items such as covers for mothers to use while breastfeeding or breast pads. Authors emphasized lifting voices, like WIC staff, to assist in the development of interventions that encourage mothers to breastfeed. Pediatrics Open Science marks the first AAP gold open access journal, which will provide free access to pediatric research perspectives and findings from around the world. The website for the journal is here.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.