--- description: Doctors and peer groups can both play a role in helping a new mother breastfeed title: Breastfeeding Programs Help New Mothers Stick With It image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853700a30ac37b50/6988ab7ff887dc1e31e97f00/breastfeeding.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Breastfeeding Programs Help New Moms Stick With It: Gov Panel  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Oct 25, 2016 3:37 PM CUT  Mother breast-feeding her baby 1 month old. Mother breast-feeding her baby 1 month old.Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Oct 25, 2016 3:37 PM CUT Breastfeeding has been linked to a [lower risk of negative health outcomes](http://time.com/4125599/breast-feeding-diabetes/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") for both baby and mother, yet the practice is still unevenly adopted. For some women, the reasons for not breastfeeding are practical and appropriate, but evidence suggests there are many women who do breastfeed but stop earlier than they should, or who do not adopt the practice due to a lack of education. About half of women in the U.S. who start breastfeeding stop by six months. Now a panel of experts that makes recommendations about preventive health has found that programs designed to encourage women to breastfeed their infants really do work. That group, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), issued an [update](http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2016.14697 "undefined") today to its 2008 recommendations about breastfeeding interventions. “The USPSTF found adequate evidence that interventions to support breastfeeding, including professional support, peer support, and formal education, change behavior and that the harms of these interventions are no greater than small,” the authors write in the paper, which was published in the _Journal of the American Medical Association_. USPSTF analyzed 43 trials and found with moderate certainty that interventions to support breastfeeding increase how many women breastfeed and for how long. Health professionals can support new and expectant mothers by talking one-on-one about the choice to breastfeed as well as teaching them how to do it, providing psychological support, and giving them supplies like breast pumps, the authors write. Formal education online or in a group setting is also effective, and family members, friends and peers can also provide support, the report says. The authors also acknowledge that [not every woman is able—or wants—to breastfeed](http://time.com/3749797/i-bullied-myself-into-breastfeeding/?iid=sr-link5 "undefined"), and say that doctors should respect those limitations or decisions. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4544558/breastfeeding-breast-pump-pregnancy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4544558/breastfeeding-breast-pump-pregnancy/"},"headline":"Breastfeeding Programs Help New Moms Stick With It: Gov Panel","datePublished":"2016-10-25T15:37:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:24:34.534Z","description":"For those who want to breastfeed, doctors and peer groups can both play a supportive role","url":"https://time.com/4544558/breastfeeding-breast-pump-pregnancy/","keywords":["Research","Pregnancy","baby","breastfeeding"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853700a30ac37b50/6988ab7ff887dc1e31e97f00/breastfeeding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853700a30ac37b50/6988ab7ff887dc1e31e97f00/breastfeeding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Breast feeding","caption":"Breast feeding","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4544558/breastfeeding-breast-pump-pregnancy/","name":"Breastfeeding Programs Help New Moms Stick With It: Gov Panel"}}]}] ```