Combined pro-breastfeeding practices are advantageous in facilities providing maternity and newborn services

Factors Influencing Uptake of Breastfeeding: The Role of Early Promotion in the Maternity Hospital

Background: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of breastfeeding at birth points in Sicily and the relevance of the factors influencing the adoption of exclusive breastfeeding during hospitalization linked to childbirth. Methods: A survey was conducted to monitor the prevalence of breastfeeding in seven out of nine facilities providing maternity services in the province of Catania (Sicily, Southern Italy) in the years 2016–2018. An online questionnaire was administered using an electronic tablet by the midwife to the mother after discharge. Results: Women who had a higher educational qualification breastfed in a greater proportion (59.6%; odds ratio OR 0.60 for abandoning breastfeeding). Having had a caesarean section moderately impaired breastfeeding uptake, with an almost double chance of declining exclusive breastfeeding (OR = 1.74). Starting breastfeeding within 1 h from delivery showed a significant facilitating effect (OR = 0.58). Rooming-in had a strong facilitating effect on exclusive breastfeeding. A breastfeeding advocacy program was shown to protect from abandoning breastfeeding. Conclusions: It is important to offer in all hospitals the possibility and support for breastfeeding in the first moments after childbirth to increase the number of those who will then continue with exclusive breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding in Hospitals: Factors Influencing Maternal Choice in Italy

Monitoring the prevalence of breastfeeding is one of the actions provided for in Italian National Health System. This study aims to observe the prevalence of breastfeeding in a representative set of birthing hospitals in the province of Catania, in Sicily, Italy, to assess the factors influencing women in their decisions to breastfeed during hospitalization after delivery. We conducted an observational study on 3813 questionnaires administered to mothers of newborns during their hospital stay from the years 2016 to 2018 in eight hospitals of various types. The average maternal age was 31.3 years ± 5.8. Sixty-nine percent of women did not attend a prenatal course. From childbirth to discharge, the percentage of women who breastfed was 88%, of whom 45% did exclusive breastfeeding. Only 35% of women who had a caesarean section adopted exclusive breastfeeding. In our experience, rooming-in was not associated with an increase in breastfeeding. We observed that both attendance to prenatal courses and the mother's education level played a minor role in influencing the mother's decision in breastfeeding A fairly high percentage of exclusive breastfeeding, 75%, was attained just in one hospital, where dedicated staff was deployed to encourage breastfeeding. The lowest percentage (12%) of exclusive breastfeeding was observed in a large private accredited health facility. Hospital presence of professionals trained in human lactation is a smart investment for society.

Combined pro-breastfeeding practices are advantageous in facilities providing maternity and newborn services

This study aimed to evaluate the association between a set of pro-breastfeeding practices in facilities providing maternity and newborn services and the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 30 days postpartum, considering the contribution of each practice. A cross-sectional study nested within a cohort study was conducted with 287 women who delivered healthy term infants in two hospitals in southern Brazil. They were interviewed at home at 30 days postpartum. The following practices were evaluated: skin-to-skin contact soon after birth, breastfeeding in the first hour, uninterrupted rooming-in, professional support with breastfeeding, breastfeeding guidance, encouragement to breastfeed on demand, no supplementation with infant formula, and no pacifier use. A score of pro-breastfeeding practices was calculated using a logistic model, which allowed each practice to have its discriminatory capacity and difficulty estimated individually. Poisson regression was used to estimate the association between exclusive breastfeeding at 30 days and the pro-breastfeeding practice score. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 30 days was 61.7%. The practices with greatest discriminatory capacity, that is, those that contributed most to the score estimates, were professional support with breastfeeding, breastfeeding guidance, and encouragement to breastfeed on demand. The most difficult ones were breastfeeding in the first hour, encouragement to breastfeed on demand, and non-utilization of infant formula. For each unit (standard deviation) of increase in the score, there was an increase of 20% in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 30 days. We conclude that the set of pro-breastfeeding practices assessed here increased the effect of these practices on exclusive breastfeeding rates at 30 days.