The Google news effect: did the tainted milk scandal in China temporarily impact newborn feeding patterns in a maternity hospital?

Abstract

Many factors influence a mother's decision to breastfeed. We investigated whether the melamine scandal involving infant formula influenced the decision to breastfeed. News of the melamine scandal was revealed in September 2008 and rapidly spread via the Internet. We illustrate that this scandal significantly and rapidly impacted the pattern of newborn feeding among Chinese women who delivered at a hospital in the eastern district of Paris. This area is home to one of the largest groups of Chinese people in France. The breastfeeding rate increased sharply in September 2008 from 14% to a peak of 31% (p = 0.014) before decreasing over a 6-month period at a rate slower than the diminishing media frenzy. The effect of the melamine news coverage on the Internet was temporary and strongly associated to ethnicity and language (p = 0.015, p = 0.004, respectively). Numerous patients utilize the Internet to access medical information, and these findings highlight the Internet's role in the healthcare equation.