Clinical protocols for management of breastfeeding.

Clinical guidelines are developed to provide clinicians with guidance that enables quality and consistency of practice based on the systematic review of available evidence. An important development over the past 13 years in the clinical management of breastfeeding has been the development of clinical protocols by the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM). Here we review the clinical guidelines developed by ABM, the process of protocol development, and their current Internet usage rates. Protocol summaries include the purpose, content, evidence level, and associated research gaps.