I don't think docs, in general base their practices on one particular study,
especially if it has info counter to what they've already accepted as
"correct" on the subject. A case in point is the study about exclusive
breastfeeding and HIV. It really hasn't been embraced [at least from what
I've seen] by the medical community because so many studies show
"breastfeeding = HIV transmission" and because there is a lack of
understanding about there being a difference between exclusive and partial
breastfeeding. I expect this to change as more studies come out replicating
this finding. Repetition is the key.

Another doc [Kathy?] posted that a turning point for her was deciding how to
feed her own children. Many of the Pediatric residents that followed me in
residency decided to breastfeed their babies. I don't know if that was a
turning point for them, but from that point on they were more likely to
promote, not just support breastfeeding among their patients.

It was remarked that change is especially hard for doctors. That's because
doctors don't like to be told what to do. [That is probably a part of the
motivation for choosing a career that requires so much time, money and
effort to prepare for] The best way to effect change is let the answer
become apparent from the evidence you present. People put a lot more stake
in the information that they "own" by reasoning things out, than by
information that is just handed to them.

Gail S. Hertz, MD, IBCLC
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