Early Termination of Breastfeeding

The investigation explored the association of demographic factors with breastfeeding termination at 6 or 9 months in women who were predominately breastfeeding their 3‐month‐old infants. Women were either exclusively breastfeeding their infants or supplementing less than 4 oz of formula daily at entry into the study. They completed a demographic questionnaire, reported their pre‐pregnancy weight and were weighed at this first visit. They returned when infants were 6 and 9 months of age. Women were weighed and were interviewed on the infant's diet. Women were classified as breastfeeding if they reported nursing more than 4 times daily and gave less than 8 oz of formula/day. While no significant findings were observed at the 6 months visit, at 9 months, women were more likely to be breast feeding if they had more than 1 child (χ 2 (1)=4.1, p=.044), and marginally less likely if they participated in the WIC program (χ 2 (1)=2.8, p=.095). Supported by National Research Initiative Grant 2008‐35200‐18779 from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture.