FRIDAY, Feb. 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Need help figuring out breastfeeding? There’s an app for that, researchers say.
“Telelactation” support is effective in promoting breastfeeding among new mothers, according to a new report published Feb. 27 in JAMA Network Open.
Moms who received virtual support through a free app reported slightly higher rates of breastfeeding six months after delivery, compared to mothers not offered the new service, results show.
Black mothers in particular benefitted from virtual breastfeeding support, researchers found.
“Our results suggest that offering telelactation could be a component of a comprehensive strategy to reduce racial disparities in breastfeeding rates,” lead investigator Lori Uscher-Pines, a senior policy researcher at the nonprofit RAND research organization, said in a news release.
“Telelactation is positioned to have a meaningful impact on breastfeeding rates when paired with strategies to enhance use of the technology,” Uscher-Pines added.
Breastfeeding offers health benefits for both mother and child, but many stop breastfeeding earlier than recommended.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that newborns be exclusively breastfed up to six months, and then continue to receive breast milk alongside other foods for at least two years.
But national surveys show that 49% of Black infants receive any breast milk at age 6 months, compared with 61% of white babies, researchers said in background notes.
For the new study, researchers recruited more than 2,000 pregnant women and randomly assigned half to receive on-demand breastfeeding support from lactation consultants 24 hours a day via app-based video visits. The other half received an e-book on infant care.
About 71% of mothers provided virtual lactation support were still breastfeeding after six months, compared to 67% of those not provided the app, results show.
The results among Black moms were even more dramatic, with 65% of app users still breastfeeding after six months compared to 57% for those who didn’t get the virtual support.
“We suspect that telelactation may have larger benefits among Black women because, overall, they have lower baseline breastfeeding rates and may have reduced access to in-person support for breastfeeding within their usual medical care,” Uscher-Pines said.
“Offering telelactation may address a gap in access to professional support that perhaps is wider among Black women,” she added.
Use of telelactation became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic, with about a third (34%) of mothers participating in video or phone visits with lactation consultants in 2020-21, researchers said in background notes.
More information
The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on recommendations for newborn and infant breastfeeding.
SOURCES: RAND, news release, Feb. 27, 2025; JAMA Network Open, Feb 27, 2025
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