We all know breastfeeding is critical for both mothers and babies. Most of us are supporters, advocates, counselors, mothers, grandmothers and just generally breastfeeding cheerleaders! We want to help and sometimes it can be hard to know how to help. In a groundbreaking new article, nine unique elements have been identified as modifiable behaviors that can increase breastfeeding success. We always knew there were things we could do! Now we have clear definitions of what those things are. Truly incredible!
The article was recently published in Acta Paediatrica and you can find it here. The research was an observational study conducted in Masaka, Uganda. It looks at 300 newborns in the postpartum unit as well as 166 infants attending the 6-week postpartum clinic. The research team utilized the Lactation Assessment & Comprehensive Intervention Tool (LAT). A tool chosen because it did not aggregate assessment items and has been validated.
What the research found was that there are nine elements that were significantly related to effective breastfeeding: the infant state and feeding cues pre-feeding, four postitioning elements including tummy-to-mummy, infants arms around the mothers breast, the breast not being held or shaped, and the baby’s head being free of restriction, and three latching elements which include the gape, the baby’s head tilt, and the baby’s lower lip reaching the breast first.
I was delighted to speak briefly with Dr. Anna Blair, the lead author on this remarkable paper to ask her few questions on the research and the findings.
Q: What would you say are the key takeaways from the research?
Dr. Blair: There are certain predicable, easily explained things that parents can do to help their baby breastfeeding effectively, before the baby even touches the breast. We found that having the baby tummy to mummy, for example, really matters. It’s best not to hold the breast. Watch that the head is free of restrictions. There’s been a lot of focus on assessing infants already at the breast, but the pre-feeding behaviors and attaching matter.
Q: Was there anything in the results that surprised you?
Dr Blair: Many of these elements we’ve believed for years – written about in numerous texts by experts – but now we have clear findings from research.
I think it was interesting that the baby’s head being free of restrictions mattered more with the infants in post partum than at the 6 week checkup.
Breasts being held have become such a common practice and this research shows it is negatively associated with effective breastfeeding. I was not surprised by that because there has been some previous research on breast shaping having a negative impact on breastfeeding. But look at the images of people breastfeeding and the instructions from hospitals – they largely include breast holding and shaping , which is so unfortunate.
Q: What has you excited about this research?
Dr. Blair: What we found in this study has easy to follow, straightforward ways to improve breastfeeding effectiveness and feeding and I think that is very exciting.
I hope the article sparks as much excitement for you as it did for me and for the research team. I also hope it sparks lots of conversations in your communities and workplaces around these specific, modifiable behaviors and how it might change our practice and the way we help moms and babies.