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The influence of reported paternal attitudes on the decision to breast‐feed
Author(s) -
SCOTT JA,
BINNS CW,
ARONI RA
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1997.tb01605.x
Subject(s) - medicine , logistic regression , breast feeding , confounding , preference , demography , family medicine , obstetrics , pediatrics , sociology , economics , microeconomics
Objective: To identify factors that influence a woman's decision to breast‐feed. Methodology: Five hundred and fifty‐six women were recruited from the maternity wards of two Perth hospitals. Data were collected from a self‐administered questionnaire completed by participants prior to discharge. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors influencing the initiation of breast‐feeding. Results: At discharge from hospital 83.8% of women were breast‐feeding, including 6% who were giving complementary formula feeds. After controlling for potentially confounding demographic and biomedical factors, the father's reported preference for breast‐feeding was found to be the most important factor influencing a woman's decision to breast‐feed (OR 10.18). Conclusion: Fathers participate in and influence the choice of infant feeding method and should be included in breast‐feeding discussions.