The prevalence and determinants of breast-feeding initiation and duration in a sample of women in Ireland

Abstract

Objective: To assess breast-feeding initiation and prevalence from birth to 6 months in a sample of mothers in Dublin, and to determine the factors associated with breast-feeding initiation and 'any' breast-feeding at 6 weeks in a sample of Irish-national mothers. Design: This prospective cross-sectional study involved the recruitment of women during the antenatal period, with subsequent follow-up of mothers who delivered healthy, term singleton infants, at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Setting: Participants were recruited from antenatal clinics in the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin. Subjects: In all, 401 Irish-national and forty-nine non-Irish-national mothers met the criteria for inclusion in the present study. Results: Breast-feeding initiation rates of the Irish-national and non-Irish-nationals were 47 % and 79?6 %, respectively. Factors that were significantly (P 5 0?000) associated with both breast-feeding initiation and 'any' breast-feeding at 6 weeks included mothers who were $35 years, educated to third level, reported positive postnatal encouragement to breast-feed from their partners and had a positive antenatal intention to breast-feed. The maternal negative perception that breastfeeding is an embarrassing way to feed an infant was demonstrated as a major barrier to initiation. Conclusions: Breast-feeding initiation and prevalence rates of the Irish-national population remain low and lag considerably behind national and international targets. Inclusion of the partner in breast-feeding promotional initiatives during the antenatal period may be crucial to increase breast-feeding rates in Ireland. Public health campaigns that focus on increasing the social acceptability of breastfeeding may prove effective in addressing this cultural barrier.

Adherence with early infant feeding and complementary feeding guidelines in the Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study

“…These data from the Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study are the most detailed and largest prospectively collected We have shown that although the rate of breast-feeding initiation has increased (9) , breast-feeding duration has not increased in Ireland. These trends are also reflected in the UK (11,12) .…”

Predictors of Breastfeeding Intention in Malaysia

“…Infants who were not breastfeeding may expose to higher risks of infectious morbidity, as well as associated with increased risks of childhood obesity, leukemia, type I and II diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDs) (Stuebe, 2009). Breastfeeding intention is a significant predictor of positive breastfeeding outcomes, having an intention to breastfeed linked to early initiation and longer duration of breastfeeding (Donath & Amir, 2003;Mitra, Khoury, Hinton, & Carothers, 2004;Tarrant, Younger, Sheridan-Pereira, White, & Kearney, 2010a). Intention is an immediate precursor of behaviour and is defined as the perception of an individual towards performance of a particular behaviour (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980).…”

“…In this study breastfeeding intention was defined as the degree of confidence about practising optimal breastfeeding behaviour. Intention to breastfeed is closely related to early initiation to breastfeed and could also be a predictor of longer duration of breastfeeding (Tarrant, Younger, Sheridan-Pereira, White, & Kearney, 2010b).…”

“…In this study breastfeeding intention was defined as the degree of confidence about practising optimal breastfeeding behaviour. Intention to breastfeed is closely related to early initiation to breastfeed and could also be a predictor of longer duration of breastfeeding (Tarrant, Younger, Sheridan-Pereira, White, & Kearney, 2010b).Many studies have documented there are various factors associated with breastfeeding intention (Kavanagh, Lou, Nicklas, Habibi, & Murphy, 2012;McLnnes, Love, & Stone, 2001;Mitra et al, 2004;Persad & Mensinger, 2008 Hamid, S. B., et.al./ 5 th AicQoL2017Bangkok, 25-27 February 2017 / E-BPJ, 2(5), March 2017 162 education status, household income, parity, marital status, being breastfed before, mother's knowledge on the benefits of breastfeeding, mother's attitude towards breastfeeding and social support network received by mothers. Interestingly, various studies have suggested that higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with adverse breastfeeding outcomes.…”

Breast-feeding support in Ireland: a qualitative study of health-care professionals’ and women’s views

“…Midwives provide antenatal, labour and postnatal care. Once a woman is discharged from hospital, postnatal care is provided by the GP and public health nursing service.Research has shown that women face different issues when breast-feeding such as not being adequately prepared for breast-feeding (4,5) , feeling embarrassed about breast-feeding in public (6)(7)(8) , perceiving insufficient milk supply (9,10) and receiving conflicting advice that subsequently undermines their confidence (11,12) . In addition, breast-feeding has been described as a 'problematic social act' whereby women try and find a balance between the act of breast-feeding and the needs, expectations and comfort of others (13) .…”