Open AccessPredictors of breastfeeding problems in the first postnatal week and its effect on exclusive breastfeeding rate at six months: experience in a tertiary care centre in Northern India
Author(s) -
Sithara Suresh,
Kamlesh Sharma,
Manju Saksena,
Anu Thukral,
Ramesh Agarwal,
Manju Vatsa
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
indian journal of public health/indian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2229-7693
pISSN - 0019-557X
DOI - 10.4103/0019-557x.146292
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , caesarean section , confidence interval , odds ratio , pediatrics , obstetrics , breast feeding , prospective cohort study , formula feeding , cohort study , breast milk , demography , pregnancy , biochemistry , chemistry , genetics , sociology , biology
In spite of the countless benefits of breastfeeding, prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has been far from optimal in the developing world. Breastfeeding problems at or after 4 weeks has been reported as one among the constraints to EBF. The study aimed to determine the breastfeeding problems in the 1 st postnatal week, their predictors and impact on EBF rate at 6 months. Under a prospective cohort design, 400 mother-newborn dyads were assessed for breastfeeding problems before discharge and at 60 ± 12 h of discharge. Nearly 89% of the mother-newborn dyads had one or more BF problems before discharge. Major concern was difficulty in positioning and attaching the infant to the breast (88.5%), followed by breast and nipple problems (30.3%). BF problems continued to persist even after discharge in a significant proportion of the mothers (72.5%). The only independent predictor of BF problems in the 1 st week was the caesarean section (odds ratio: 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-3.2, P < 0.05). There was a marked improvement in the EBF status (69.5%) at 6 months, and BF problems did not predict EBF failure at 6 months.