WHO dispels misconceptions about breastfeeding in medical community

The first week in August is World Breastfeeding Week, a time to emphasize the importance of creating “breastfeeding-friendly environments for mothers and babies,” according to WHO.

Both the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and AAP have issued recommendations that encourage breastfeeding, and WHO said an uptick in breastfeeding rates is a critical part of eliminating child malnutrition worldwide.

Despite the health benefits, the CDC estimates that only about 25% of babies in the U.S. are exclusively breastfed at or around 6 months. Other reports indicate this rate may reach up to 39% in parts of Western Europe and the developing world.

Laurence Grummer-Strawn

In high-income countries, there are some misconceptions about breastfeeding among the medical community, Laurence Grummer-Strawn, PhD, head of food and nutrition action in health systems at WHO, told Healio Primary Care.

“Many health professionals in high-income countries believe that breastfeeding only matters in poor countries, where water is unclean or families cannot afford infant formula,” he said.

In addition, health care professionals often “minimize the role they play in shaping infant and young child feeding decisions,” according to Grummer-Strawn.

“They sometimes fear that by providing scientific information about breastfeeding, they will make women feel guilty about their feeding decisions,” he said. “As a result, they deprive women of the support they need to address concerns about positioning, latching at the breast, pain or situation‐specific issues.”

Health care professionals may also undermine confidence among mothers “by suggesting that breastfeeding is good ‘if she can’ or ‘if she has enough milk,’” Grummer-Strawn said.

“True milk insufficiency is quite rare and is usually caused by inappropriate management of lactation,” he added.

Grummer-Strawn encouraged health care professionals to “provide skilled support” regarding breastfeeding to pregnant women and mothers. He also said some members of the medical community may need a refresher on breastfeeding management.

UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, MSc, PhD, said in a press release that “unfounded fears that breastfeeding can transmit COVID-19” jeopardize the progress made in increasing breastfeeding rates.

“Now is not the time to lower our ambitions,” they said. “Now is the time to aim high.”

In conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week, below are 10 recent articles on Healio that describe some of the latest research on breastfeeding.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission via breast milk unlikely, study finds

Mothers are not likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to their infants through breast milk, according to a recent study. Read more.

Maternal COVID-19 vaccination may protect breastfeeding infants

Women vaccinated against COVID-19 produced “robust” levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in breast milk samples for 6 weeks after vaccination, according to a study of dozens of breastfeeding women in Israel. Read more.

Nearly 40% of women change breastfeeding plans because of childbirth experiences

Almost 4 in 10 women had a childbirth experience, such as pain from a cesarean delivery, that made them change their breastfeeding plans, survey data show. Read more.

Newborns fed in-hospital formula are weaned from breast milk earlier

Breastfeeding infants who were fed formula during their post-partum hospital stay were 2.5 to six times more likely to be weaned off of breast milk in the first year of life compared with infants who were breastfed exclusively, a study published in Pediatrics found. Read more.

Maternal exercise may improve benefits of breastfeeding

Pregnant women who engaged in moderate levels of exercise increased a compound in their breast milk that may lower their offspring’s risks for serious health problems like CVD or diabetes, researchers reported in Nature Metabolism. Read more.

Any duration, exclusivity of breastfeeding linked to lower BP in early childhood

Any type of breastfeeding, regardless of duration or exclusivity, was associated with the child presenting with lower BP by age 3 years, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Read more.

Q&A: HCP advice on maternal diet while breastfeeding children with food allergy varies

Hannah Wangberg, MD, a pediatrician and internist in San Diego, discussed with Healio her survey that found inconsistencies in the advice health care professionals provide to nursing mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergies. Read more.

Drinking milk while pregnant, breastfeeding may lower allergy risk in children

Women who drink more cow’s milk during pregnancy and while breastfeeding may lower their child’s risk for developing food allergy, according to research published in Nutrients. Read more.

Exclusive breastfeeding results in ‘drastic’ reduction of pediatric dental disease

Children who were exclusively breastfed for 6 months were less likely to have dental disease, according to data presented at the virtual American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo. Read more.

Breastfeeding may lower ovarian cancer risk ‘beyond’ pregnancy alone

Naoko Sasamoto, MD, MPH, from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, discussed her JAMA Oncology study that suggested breastfeeding as a potentially modifiable factor that may decrease the risk for ovarian cancer, independent of pregnancy alone, and what this means for clinicians. Read more.

References:

AAP. Pediatrics. 2012;doi:10.1542/peds.2011-3552.

CDC.gov. Breastfeeding report card for the United States, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/2020-Breastfeeding-Report-Card-H.pdf. Accessed Aug. 3, 2021.

Theurich MA, et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019;doi:10.1097/MPG.0000000000002234.

USPSTF.org. Breastfeeding: Primary Care Interventions. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/breastfeeding-primary-care-interventions. Accessed Aug. 3, 2021.

WHO. Joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week. https://www.who.int/news/item/31-07-2021-joint-statement-by-unicef-executive-director-henrietta-fore-and-who-director-general-dr.-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-on-the-occasion-of-world-breastfeeding-week. Accessed Aug. 3, 2021.

Xiadong C, et al. Int Breastfeed J. 2012;doi:10.1186/1746-43580-7/-12.