Discussion
We located no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effects of antenatal breast examination.
There is potential for both harm and benefit from antenatal breast examinations. While antenatal breast examination may be used as an opportunity to discuss the importance of breastfeeding, many women may find a clinical breast exam during pregnancy intrusive. Although it is recommended as routine clinical practice in some countries (NCI 2004; SOGC 2002), we found no studies to demonstrate that it is effective in promoting breastfeeding.
An RCT that compared mothers who received a 30-minute counselling session on breastfeeding technique with mothers who did not receive any counselling found no difference in the frequency of exclusive breastfeeding during the first 30 days after birth (de Oliveira 2006), suggesting that it is unlikely that discussion during a single antenatal breast examination would effect initiation of breastfeeding. Even if discussion raised during an antenatal breast examination were effective in initiating breastfeeding, there is no conceivable reason that the same discussion could not be raised without having to perform a breast examination. Indeed, it has been shown that postnatal interventions involving support by maternity ward staff and clinicians can increase the number of women who are exclusively breastfeeding at four weeks after birth (Labarere 2005). Another study on the use of breast shells and Hoffman's exercises reported that 13% of women who were intending to breastfeed decided not to after being told they had a potential problem (Alexander 1992) indicating that antenatal breast exam could, in fact, deter women from initiating breastfeeding.
The argument that breast cancer in pregnancy will become an increasing concern as more women, in developed countries in particular, postpone childbirth until later in life (Woo 2003) is another potential justification for routine antenatal breast examination. During pregnancy, however, the breasts often become tender and swollen (Kitzinger 2003), which can make the examination uncomfortable for the mother and diagnosis difficult for the clinician (Moore 2000). Rather than routine breast examination, it may be enough to encourage women to report any changes that they notice in their breasts to their GP or carer. But no evidence has been found to support breast examination by a doctor, nurse or the women themselves as a primary screening technique for breast cancer (SIGN 2005).
Ideally, policies that govern the care of pregnant women should be evidence based. There is no doubt that breastfeeding is beneficial for both mother and infant. However, there is no evidence to support the notion that antenatal breast examinations are effective in promoting breastfeeding, nor any evidence on other potential effects of antenatal breast examination, such as the detection of breast anomalies or satisfaction with care.