Breast-feeding education and practice in family medicine

Physician support has been shown to increase breast-feeding rates, but anecdotal reports suggest that physicians are ill prepared for their role in breast-feeding promotion. Inadequate breast-feeding education during residency training may be a contributing factor.

A self-administered questionnaire mailed to 1099 family medicine residents and 665 recently board-certified family physicians assessed knowledge, attitudes, education, and activity related to breast-feeding promotion. Response rates were 71% for residents and 58% for physicians.

Although residents and physicians were strongly convinced that family physicians should be involved in breast-feeding promotion, both groups demonstrated significant deficits in knowledge about breast-feeding benefits and clinical management strategies. Common errors included inappropriate recommendations for breast-feeding termination or formula supplementation, a proven cause of breast-feeding failure. Personal breast-feeding experience was the only factor consistently associated with more frequent breast-feeding promotion activity among residents and increased self-confidence for both groups. Respondents reported only limited opportunities for developing breast-feeding counseling skills during residency training.

Improved breast-feeding education is needed for family medicine residents and physicians. Residency training and continuing education programs should emphasize the benefits of breast-feeding, clinical management strategies, and development of practical counseling skills.