Study: ‘Baby-Friendly’ Maternity Practices Supporting Breastfeeding Help Low-income Mothers Achieve Their Breastfeeding Goals

Mothers delivering in hospitals that supported breastfeeding with specific maternity care practices were more likely to meet their breastfeeding intentions and result in infants breastfeeding without formula supplementation a month after birth, according to a study published in the April 2022 Pediatrics. The study, “Maternity Care Practices and Breastfeeding Intentions at One Month among Low-Income Women,” confirmed the relationship between breastfeeding and providing breastfeeding-supportive maternity care practices among low-income women, as low-income women are known to be at higher risk of not breastfeeding. Researchers used data from a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Infant and Toddler feeding practices study, following 1,080 women who intended to breastfeed and estimating risk ratios for associations between six maternity care practices supportive of breastfeeding. Those practices -- initiated in 1991 by the World Health Organization and UNICEF as the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative -- included breastfeeding within one hour of birth; showing mothers how to breastfeed; giving only breast milk without formula supplementation; rooming-in; breastfeeding on demand; and no pacifiers. The more Baby-Friendly steps women experienced, the more likely they were to achieve their intention, this study concludes. Not providing in-hospital formula supplementation was a key factor associated with meeting one’s intentions. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months followed by complementary food introduction and continued breastfeeding through 12 months or beyond as mutually desired by mother and infant.

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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.