Many doctors are failing to give new moms life-saving advice, survey shows

Mothers aren't necessarily getting the advice they need from doctors when it comes to caring for newborns, according to a Pediatrics survey released Monday, and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

A full 20 percent of the 1,000 women surveyed didn't get instructions from doctors regarding breastfeeding and how to position sleeping infants. That figure jumped to 50 percent for sleep location and pacifier use. How to position babies is particularly important information, since placing an infant on his or her back to sleep can significantly reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Black and Hispanic mothers were more likely to receive advice from doctors than white mothers, and the same went for first-time mothers versus mothers with multiple children. On top of that, some of the information doctors relayed was inconsistent.

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"As a physician, these findings made me stop and really think about how we communicate important information to new parents," pediatrician and study author Staci Eisenberg said in a statement.