Supported by a large and growing body of evidence, strong policy statements from organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) counsel that breastfeeding is the optimal form of nutrition for infants during the first six months of life. But the vast majority of research studies present the findings on effects of breastfeeding with formula positioned as the norm or baseline comparator and breastfeeding characterized as the "intervention."
The authors of a recent report reframed the research on infant feeding outcomes to make breastfeeding the standard. To accomplish this, the authors reanalyzed the results of studies included in a large systematic review of the outcomes of breastfeeding for mothers and babies in developed countries published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (available at http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/bfm.2009.0050).
The authors of a recent report reframed the research on infant feeding outcomes to make breastfeeding the standard. To accomplish this, the authors reanalyzed the results of studies included in a large systematic review of the outcomes of breastfeeding for mothers and babies in developed countries published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (available at http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/bfm.2009.0050).
They inverted the results that focused on exclusive breastfeeding, recalculating the odds ratios to present the findings in terms of harms associated with any formula use, as opposed to benefits of breastfeeding. For example, looked at this way, the pooled odds for infants receiving any formula use in the first 3 months suggested they were twice as likely to get an ear infection as infants who received only breast milk. Reframing the results of the best available research to position breastfeeding as the norm also highlighted the inconsistent definitions used by researchers and the small number of eligible women in the included studies who reached the recommended goal of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. These shortcomings resulted in small sample sizes for the baseline of exclusively breastfed babies, such that framed this way the results of many studies did not reach statistical significance
Conclusions: Exclusive breastfeeding is an optimal practice, compared with which other infant feeding practices carry risks. Further studies on the influence of presenting exclusive breastfeeding as the standard in research studies and counseling messages are recommended. (BIRTH 37:1 March 2010)
Conclusions: Exclusive breastfeeding is an optimal practice, compared with which other infant feeding practices carry risks. Further studies on the influence of presenting exclusive breastfeeding as the standard in research studies and counseling messages are recommended. (BIRTH 37:1 March 2010)
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