Research analyses facts behind breastfeeding cessation

Research analyses facts behind breastfeeding cessation

University of Tasmania researchers who studied data from 22,000 mother and infant pairs have found that babies being fed exclusively breast milk is not common, and that half of the infants who start exclusive breastfeeding in Australia stop by the age of two months.

University of Tasmania researchers who studied data from 22,000 mother and infant pairs have found that babies being fed exclusively breast milk is not common, and that half of the infants who start exclusive breastfeeding in Australia stop by the age of two months.

The researchers from the university's Menzies Institute for Medical Research and the School of Social Sciences analysed the 2010 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's National Infant Feeding Survey. Using a sample of 22,202 mother and infant pairs, they found multiple reasons for the cessation of exclusive breast feeding.

After taking all other confounding factors into consideration, three factors were most strongly associated with the stopping of exclusive breastfeeding: partners' preference on how the infant was to be fed, regular dummy use and maternal obesity.

The researchers found that 96% of Australian mothers chose to start breastfeeding at birth. If the mother's partner preferred the baby be bottle-fed, the risk of stopping increased by 86%. If the mother's partner had no preference, the risk of cessation increased by 73%. Dummy use was found to increase the risk of stopping by 37%. For mothers who were obese the risk of stopping increased by 29%.

The lead author on the paper, Jennifer Ayton, is a PhD student at Menzies and the School of Social Sciences. She is also a registered midwife and a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the university's School of Health Sciences.

Ms Ayton said it was clear from the number of Australian mothers who chose to start breastfeeding at birth that the public health message of "breast is best" had got through. "What is needed now is a clear focus on modifying or eliminating risk factors identified from this research and a rethink on how best to support the family so that exclusively breastfeeding can continue," Ms Ayton said.

Although many factors are associated with cessation of exclusive breastfeeding, supporting and engaging fathers/partners has the potential to improve the duration of exclusive breastfeeding

Breast milk is recommended and accepted as the only milk an infant needs for about the first six months of life. Other foods and fluids may then be introduced with continued breastfeeding as long as the mother/family desire.

The research was published in the British Medical Journal's Archives of Disease in Childhood.

"Cumulative risks and cessation of exclusive breast feeding: Australian cross-sectional survey" in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Jennifer Ayton, Ingrid Van der Mei, Karen Wills, Emily Hansen, Mark Nelson. Menzies Institute for Medical Research and School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania.

Read the paper here.

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Miranda Harman

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Menzies Institute for Medical Research

University of Tasmania

Phone: 61 3 6226-7751

61 427 199 562

Email:  miranda.harman@utas.edu.au

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