Situación del amamantamiento, prevalencia y factores asociados con la duración de la lactancia en la población de referencia del Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Salamanca

Abstract

Introduction: Our study describes the situation of breastfeeding in the population of Salamanca and the most frequent reasons for breastfeeding cessation.

Material and methods: Data were collected from 263 term newborns whose mothers intended to breastfeed, from June 2016 to July 2017, with follow-up at discharge, 2, 4, 6 and 12 months. Main variables analyzed were: mother’s age, educational level, type of family, employment status, previous experience and information about breastfeeding, spontaneous latch in the first hour after birth, type of feeding, supplements during hospital stay, infant feeding in the last 24 hours and age of the infant when he/she started taking foods other than breastmilk.

Results: Mean age of mothers: 32.94 years, married: 54.8 %, university studies: 50.2 %, Spanish nationality: 89.4 %, working outside the home: 67.7 % and primiparous: 54.5 %. The introduction of foods other than breastmilk occurred at 3.6 months. The main reasons for breastfeeding cessation were poor weight gain and infant hunger. Prevalence of breastfeeding at hospital discharge was 91.6 % and 79.8 %, 69.0 %, 59.5 % and 39.2 % at two, four, six and twelve months respectively in those mothers who answered the telephone survey.