Ergonomic infant carrier increase breastfeeding rates: Study

USA: An ergonomic infant carrier may be an easy and effective intervention for increasing breastfeeding rate and duration, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics -- the official journal of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). 

According to AAP recommendations, infants should be exclusively fed human milk for the first 6 months of life, with continued breastfeeding until at least 12 months. However, data reveals that breastfeeding rates are constantly below the medical recommendations in the US. Since it is well-established that skin-to-skin contact increases breastfeeding readiness and success, a team of researchers led by Emily E. Little, provided ergonomic carriers to parents during pregnancy to assess whether it would increase the likelihood of breastfeeding and expressed human milk feeding through the first 6 months of infant life.

A randomized two-arm, parallel-group trial was conducted between February 2018 and June 2019 in collaboration with a home-visiting program in a low-income community. At 30 weeks' gestation, 50 parents were randomly assigned to receive an ergonomic infant carrier and instruction on proper use to facilitate increased physical contact with infants (intervention group), and 50 parents were assigned to a waitlist control group. Feeding outcomes were assessed with online surveys at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. 

Key findings of the study include:

• Parents in the intervention group were more likely to be breastfeeding (68%) than control group parents (40%).
• No significant differences were detected in feeding outcomes at 6 weeks (intervention: 78% versus control: 81%) or 3 months (intervention: 66% versus control: 57%,).
• Exclusive human milk feeding did not differ between groups (intervention versus control at 6 weeks: 66% vs 49%; 3 months: 45% vs 40%; 6 months: 49% vs 26%).

"Infant carriers increased rates of breastfeeding and expressed human milk feeding at 6 months postpartum. Large-scale studies are warranted to further examine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of providing carriers as an intervention to increase access to human milk," the investigators concluded.

Reference:

The study titled, "An Infant Carrier Intervention and Breastfeeding Duration: A Randomized Controlled Trial," is published in the journal Pediatrics.