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Trends in Breastfeeding Initiation in the NICU by Gestational Age in Ohio, 2006–2012
Author(s) -
Kachoria Rashmi,
OzaFrank Reena
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
birth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.233
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1523-536X
pISSN - 0730-7659
DOI - 10.1111/birt.12146
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , neonatal intensive care unit , gestational age , birth certificate , pediatrics , obstetrics , logistic regression , population , pregnancy , environmental health , genetics , biology
Abstract Background While breastfeeding in the United States is on the rise, trends among infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ( NICU ) are less known. The objective of this study was to examine trends in breastfeeding initiation among NICU ‐admitted infants in Ohio from 2006 to 2012 and to determine differences in breastfeeding initiation trends by gestational age. Methods Using Ohio Vital Statistics birth certificate data, the Cochran–Armitage test for trend was used to determine significant trends in breastfeeding by gestational age. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between breastfeeding initiation and gestational age by year. Results From 2006 to 2012, 48,758 infants born in Ohio were admitted to the NICU , representing 5.6 percent of all newborns. Breastfeeding among NICU ‐admitted infants increased from 53.3 percent in 2006 to 63.8 percent in 2012 ( p < 0.01). Increasing, significant trends in breastfeeding were also observed within each gestational age category over the 7 years. In 2011 and 2012, preterm infants were significantly more likely than term infants to be fed breastmilk in the NICU . Discussion The gap between breastfeeding initiation among NICU ‐admitted and non‐admitted infants appears to be narrowing, particularly for the most extreme gestational ages. While these increasing trends in breastfeeding among the most premature infants are encouraging, nearly 40 percent of mothers of term infants admitted to the NICU , the largest proportion of the NICU population, are still not initiating breastfeeding. More education and support specific to mothers of infants admitted to the NICU is needed.