M S Kramer

Dr M S Kramer, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; michael.kramer@mcgill.ca

STUDY DESIGN

Design:

cluster randomised controlled trial (Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial [PROBIT]).

Allocation:

{concealed}†.*

Blinding:

blinded (teacher ratings).*

STUDY QUESTION

Setting:

33 maternity hospitals and affiliated polyclinics in Belarus, 2 of which refused to participate after randomisation.†‡

Participants:

17 046†‡ healthy breast-fed infants who were born at term, enrolled in hospital postpartum, and weighed ⩾2500 g at birth.

Intervention:

promotion and support of exclusive and prolonged breast feeding for mothers who had decided to breast feed (16 centres,† 7108 infants) or usual care (15 centres,† 6781 infants). The intervention was based on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) developed by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.

Outcomes:

included Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of …