Factors associated with abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding in Veracruz, Mexico

Background Exclusive breastfeeding is a fundamental part in the development of the newborn, however, 40% of babies worldwide receive this form of feeding, while in Mexico we comply with breastfeeding in 14.4% although currently the services of health participating in social security promote exclusive breastfeeding promotion strategies. Research question: What are the factors associated with the abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding in mothers assigned to social security health services in Veracruz, Mexico? Methods A cross-sectional, analytical, observational and prospective study was conducted between December 2019 and March 2020. Women who had had children older than 6 months, attached to the Mexican Social Security Institute were included, excluding those who could not breastfeed due to medical indications. A non-probabilistic sampling was obtained. The results were collected and analyzed with the SPSS Statistic® program. We calculted Chi-square test and odds ratios and 95% confidence interval. Results 176 patients were included, obtaining a prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of 45.25%. The factors that facilitate the abandonment of breastfeeding were “not producing enough milk” (OR 4.6 IC95% 2.2-9.4) and other personal or family beliefs, both with p < 0.05. The association between abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding and marital status, occupation, family type, number of children, previous history of breastfeeding, pregnancy planning, prenatal consultations, pregnancy termination form, receiving information on breastfeeding by health personnel during their postpartum stay in the hospital, attending breastfeeding training and main source of information on breastfeeding, without being significant for any of these factors. Conclusions The factors associated with the abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding are the beliefs of the mother along with those of her family, overcoming the educational actions of the health system and the social conditions of the mother. Key messages The educational strategies of the health system should be evaluated, since according to the results it has not yet been possible to sensitize patients about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. Research on this topic should continue as exclusive breastfeeding brings benefits to the health of the mother, the child and the family as it is also a support for the economy.