Get Comfortable with Giving Breastfeeding Support

During my pediatric residency, I noticed something odd.

I don’t have asthma, but I had no problem discussing the importance of using a daily controller medication or demonstrating the use of a spacer with my patients.

I’m not a smoker, but I always felt comfortable reviewing the risks of secondhand smoke exposure with parents and exploring ways to cut down on cigarette use.

I was not a parent, and yet I incorporated anticipatory guidance about child behavioral milestones in nearly all of my patient encounters.

But when it came time for me to counsel breastfeeding mothers, I, as a person who had never breastfed a child, often felt completely out of my league.

Many mothers who struggle with breastfeeding also struggle with a surfeit of information and opinions about breastfeeding. By the time they arrive in a pediatrician’s office with concerns, many mothers have been overwhelmed by advice from family, friends, books, strangers, and the Internet.

For a pediatrician, sorting through this information and providing reassurance and actionable advice for breastfeeding mothers can be challenging.

In August 2017Pediatrics in Review, the article by Maya Bunik, MD, MSPH, and its accompanying PowerPoint Teaching Slides provide a comprehensive guide to addressing the many barriers to exclusive breastfeeding.

Given the many recognized benefits of breastfeeding--from early immunoprotection to enhanced maturity of the infant gut--it is essential that all pediatricians learn how to support mothers through their breastfeeding difficulties.

This article will be a handy resource for any pediatrician to incorporate breastfeeding support during their clinic visits.