An extended midwifery support programme did not increase breast feeding at 6 months, compared with standard postnatal midwifery support
- Coventry University, Coventry, UK
- Correspondence to Louise M Wallace
Applied Research Centre Health & Lifestyles Interventions, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK; l.wallace{at}coventry.ac.uk
Breastfeeding for health gain
It is well known that resorting to infant-feeding methods other than breastfeeding has negative implications for both mother and infant. Exclusive breastfeeding is currently promoted for at least the first 6 months of life; however, even in countries where recent efforts have been made to improve initiation of breastfeeding, the trend shows that few babies are exclusively breastfed over this period. The fragility of breastfeeding is underscored by numerous studies that show breastfeeding duration is seldom achieved for as long as intended.
A pragmatic RCT
The study compares a standard midwifery support (SMS) to an extended midwifery programme (EMS) in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design which recruited 849 mothers and singleton …
