Written by Hannah Harp
Spoon Feed
New USPSTF recommendations have dropped! The verdict: It recommends primary care clinicians provide behavioral counseling, education, and referrals as needed to support breastfeeding.
Education – it works!
The health benefits of breastfeeding have been well established for both infants and lactating parents. However, there are often physical, financial, or cultural barriers to breastfeeding. For patients who choose to formula feed, how hard should we be pushing breastfeeding support?
The new USPSTF systematic review examined 90 RCTs representing 90,000 parent-infant dyads receiving breastfeeding education or counseling in a primary care setting during pregnancy or postpartum. Interventions were mostly in an individual clinical setting, but some group counseling interventions were included. Education was delivered by a variety of frontline providers, including physicians, APPs, nurses, and midwives. Breastfeeding interventions significantly increased exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months (RR 1.46; 95%CI 1.20–1.78), especially when counseling was provided on more than one occasion. This is a level B recommendation and does not change their previous recommendation from 2016. Research gaps include benefits and harms of such interventions in populations who experience more challenges with breastfeeding, such as parents who are Black, low-income, live in a rural area, or parents who are returning to the workplace.
How will this change my practice?
I can’t encourage you enough to read either the JAMA article or the summary directly from the USPSTF website. It includes a long list of breastfeeding resources, society guidelines, educational materials, and links to drug and lactation safety resources. There are also links to Fair Labor Standards Act information for parents who will be returning to work while breastfeeding.
Source
Primary Care Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Support Breastfeeding: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2025 May 6;333(17):1520-1526. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.3650. PMID: 40198087
