Breast feeding policies in practice--'no wonder they get confused'

This paper presents the findings on breast feeding from the Policy and Practice of Midwifery Study which is a study of midwifery care in English Health Districts. Policies and practice that concern breast feeding were studied in both a national survey of maternity units and in local in-depth studies. The paper demonstrates the variations between and anomalies within maternity hospital policies and practice on breast feeding. Findings indicate that many current practices are not consistent with the available research evidence and may actively hinder the establishment of successful breast feeding.