New study came out this week and made lots of headlines:
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The only problem is….you can’t quite say that!
There are a couple reasons why the study should not be applied broadly:
- The study size was very small, only 38 babies. You simply cannot get good results from that small of a sample.
- The study was with moms who had a delayed start of mature milk production, not healthy normal moms and babies. It also started “treating” babies at 5% weight loss, below the level that would require treatment.
- The study was with syringe feeding, not bottles. Bottles introduce a whole set of difficulties that might mean different results.
- There are many, many other studies out there that say just the opposite. Studies with larger sample sizes and more rigorous research methodology. Any piece of research should be taken in context of all the other information out there.
- At least one of the researchers is a paid consultant for a formula company, which means there is potential for bias in the research.
Please remember that the sound bytes you hear in the media about research studies are often misleading and at times flat out wrong!
More responses to the study can be found at The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and Best for Babes.
If you’d like to learn more about understanding research in general, I recommend my other site, UnderstandingResearch.com
