Breastfeeding

Abstract

While Marie Biancuzzo’s guest editorial, “Breastfeeding: Making It Happen at Home” (July/August 1998 JOGNN) is informative, we believe that its identification of infant formula marketing practices as the “most notable barrier” to breastfeeding initiation and continuation in the United States is inconsistent with published research reports. Although several clinical trials have examined the link between distribution of hospital discharge packs and shortened duration of breastfeeding, this relationship remains inconclusive ( Bliss et al., 1997 Bliss M.C. Wilkie J. Acredolo C. Berman S. Tebb K.P. The effect of discharge pack formula and breast pumps on breastfeeding duration and choice of infant feeding method. Birth. 1997; 24: 90-97 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar ; Feinstein et al., 1986 Feinstein J.M. Berkelhamer J.E. Gruszka M.E. Wong C.A. Carey A.E. Factors related to early termination of breastfeeding in an urban population. Pediatrics. 1986; 78: 210-215 PubMed Google Scholar , Frank et al., 1987 Frank D.A. Wirtz S.J. Sorenson J.R. Heeren T. Commercial discharge packs and breastfeeding counseling: Effects on infant feeding practices in a randomized trial. Pediatrics. 1987; 78: 845-854 Google Scholar ; Howard and Howard, 1997 Howard C. Howard F.M. Commentary: Discharge packs: How much do they matter?. Birth. 1997; 24: 98-101 Crossref PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar ; Perez-Escamilla et al., 1994 Perez-Escamilla, R., Pollitt, E., Lonnerdal, B., & Dewey, K.G. Infant feeding policies in maternity wards and their effect on breast-feeding success: An analytic overview. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 89-97. Google Scholar ). This finding does not mean that we need to accept, condone, or participate in these marketing practices. Instead, the data suggest that we should not become so focused on policy about formula marketing that we fail to address the research-based barriers to breastfeeding that make women vulnerable to these marketing practices in the first place.