Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2004
Randomised controlled trial of support from volunteer counsellors for mothers considering breast feeding.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Support for healthy breastfeeding mothers with healthy term babies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- A realist review of one-to-one breastfeeding peer support experiments conducted in developed country settings.Maternal & child nutrition · 2018Pooled it
- Breastfeeding education and support for women with twins or higher order multiples.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Support for healthy breastfeeding mothers with healthy term babies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Antenatal breastfeeding education for increasing breastfeeding duration.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Breastfeeding promotion interventions and breastfeeding practices: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2013Pooled it
- Support for healthy breastfeeding mothers with healthy term babies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Antenatal breastfeeding education for increasing breastfeeding duration.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Effect of breastfeeding promotion interventions on breastfeeding rates, with special focus on developing countries.BMC public health · 2011Pooled it
- Effect of antenatal peer support on breastfeeding initiation: a systematic review.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2010Pooled it
- Breastfeeding peer counseling: from efficacy through scale-up.Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association · 2010Pooled it
- Lay health workers in primary and community health care for maternal and child health and the management of infectious diseases.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2010Pooled it
- Peer support intervention (ABA-feed) to improve breastfeeding: UK based, multicentre, parallel group, randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness of a new breastfeeding counselling intervention on breastfeeding prevalence, infant growth velocity and postpartum weight loss in overweight women: a randomized controlled trial.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Trial
- Individualized intervention to improve rates of exclusive breastfeeding: A randomised controlled trial.Medicine · 2019Trial
- Relationship of newborn weight loss to milk supply concern and anxiety: the impact on breastfeeding duration.Maternal & child nutrition · 2016Trial
- Ringing Up about Breastfeeding: a randomised controlled trial exploring early telephone peer support for breastfeeding (RUBY) - trial protocol.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2014Trial
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate whether offering volunteer support from counsellors in breast feeding would result in more women breast feeding.
designRandomised controlled trial.
setting32 general practices in London and south Essex.
participants720 women considering breast feeding.
main outcome measuresPrimary outcome was prevalence of any breast feeding at six weeks. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of women giving any breast feeds, or bottle feeds at four months, duration of any breast feeding, time to introduction of bottle feeds, and satisfaction with breast feeding.
resultsOffering support in breast feeding did not significantly increase the prevalence of any breast feeding to six weeks (65% (218/336) in the intervention group and 63% (213/336) in the control group; relative risk 1.02, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.24). Survival analysis up to four months confirmed that neither duration of breast feeding nor time to introduction of formula feeds differed significantly between control and intervention groups. Not all women in the intervention group contacted counsellors postnatally, but 73% (123/179) of those who did rated them as very helpful. More women in the intervention group than in the control group said that their most helpful advice came from counsellors rather than from other sources.
conclusionsWomen valued the support of a counsellor in breast feeding, but the intervention did not significantly increase breastfeeding rates, perhaps because some women did not ask for help.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.