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 Vol. 10 No. 4, October 2003
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AAP Grand Rounds 10:41-42 (2003)
© 2003 American Academy of Pediatrics

COMMUNITY PEDIATRICS AND INTERNATIONAL CHILD HEALTH

Attitude is Everything: A Caregiver’s Neutral Attitude May Deter Mothers from Breastfeeding

Source: DiGirolamo AM, Grummer-Strawn LM, Fein SB. Do perceived attitudes of physicians and hospital staff affect breastfeeding decisions? Birth. 2003;30:94–100.[Medline]

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Numerous studies have examined positive and negative influences on mothers’ choices regarding infant feeding. These Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators studied the effect of perceived caregiver attitudes about breastfeeding on actual breastfeeding behavior. To test the power of caregivers’ attitudes, the authors chose to assess the impact of perceived neutrality—ie, not being either in favor of or opposed to breastfeeding. They drew a sample of mothers from the Infant Feeding Practices Survey, a longitudinal study conducted by the FDA in 1993–1994. Questionnaires were returned by 3,155 women. Five hundred forty were ineligible for the study. Of the 2,615 left in the cohort, 1,737 returned the questionnaire addressing prenatal and neonatal issues. Compared to a benchmark sample of women (the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey), the respondents were more likely white, older, better educated, and more affluent. The authors eliminated respondents whose caregivers promoted . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Stanley I. Fisch, MD, FAAP
Private practice, Harlingen, TX.