Behavioral interventions to promote breastfeeding: recommendations and rationale.

This statement summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on counseling to promote breastfeeding, a new topic for the USPSTF. Explanations of the ratings and of the strength of overall evidence are given in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. The complete information on which this statement is based, including evidence tables and references, is available in the systematic evidence review on this topic, which can be obtained through the USPSTF Web site (www.preventiveservices.ahrq.gov) and through the National Guideline ClearinghouseTM (www.guideline.gov). The complete USPSTF recommendation and rationale statement on this topic, which contains a brief review of the evidence, also is available through the USPSTF Web site (www.preventiveservices.ahrq.gov), the National Guideline Clearinghouse (www.guideline.gov), and in print through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Publications Clearinghouse (call 1800-358-9295 or e-mail [email protected]). The USPSTF recommendations are independent of the U.S. Government. They do not represent the views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. Public Health Service. Corresponding author: Alfred O. Berg, MD, MPH, Chair, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, c/o Project Director, USPSTF, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Rd., Rockville, MD 20850. E-mail: [email protected].