Cynthia R. Howard, M.D., M.P.H., pediatric director of the Mother Baby Unit at the hospital, was the study's lead author. Since women tend to make their infant-feeding decision before their third trimester of pregnancy, the researchers asserted, prenatal health care providers are in a good position to advise women about the benefits of breastfeeding. Giving out a formula company's information packet may seem like an endorsement of formula-feeding, they concluded. In addition, researchers claimed, the use of such materials is in violation of the World Health Organization's international code for marketing breast milk substitutes. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Public Health Service encourage breastfeeding as the best way to nourish an infant and help establish bonding between mother and baby.
Objectives is longer-term infant breastfeeding, at least up to six months.
The Rochester study strongly suggests that prenatal distribution of formula and formula information packets encourages mothers to limit the amount of time they breastfeed their infants.