Influences on breastfeeding outcomes for healthy terms and preterm/sick infants

Objective: This study investigated breastfeeding outcomes and factors associated with duration of breastfeeding in cohorts of healthy term and sick/preterm infants. Study Design: Follow-up was conducted of 87 sick/preterm and 92 term healthy infants during the 9 months following discharge from two Western Australian hospitals. Results: When corrected for gestational age, breastfeeding duration did not differ between the entire cohort of sick/preterm and term healthy groups. Multivariable analysis showed that early cessation of breastfeeding was more likely for infants born at < 33 weeks of gestation (hazard ratio [HR ] = 2.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14-3.69), mothers who had previously breastfed for < 6 months (HR = 3.67, 95% CI = 2.12-6.37), and for mothers who perceived breastfeeding to be important rather than very important (HR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.59-4.20). Conclusions: Maternal perceptions of breastfeeding as ''important'' rather than ''very important'' and previous breastfeeding duration of < 6 months are negatively associated with breastfeeding duration; these factors can be identified and addressed during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. Preterm infants born at < 33 weeks of gestation have a shorter breastfeeding duration than those born at a later gestation.No Full Tex