Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul 11;14(7):e0219801.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219801. eCollection 2019.

Factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding in the first month of life among Amazonian children

Paola Soledad Mosquera  1 , Bárbara H Lourenço  1 , Suely G A Gimeno  1 , Maíra B Malta  1 , Marcia C Castro  2 , Marly Augusto Cardoso  1 ; MINA-Brazil Working Group
Affiliations

Factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding in the first month of life among Amazonian children

Paola Soledad Mosquera et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Early life feeding practices can directly affect the growth, development, and survival of a child. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in the first month of life among Amazonian infants. We used data of 1,523 mother-child pairs of the MINA-Brazil birth cohort study. Mothers were interviewed soon after delivery at baseline and by telephone at 30-45 days postpartum (n = 962, 63.2% of those eligible). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and accelerated failure-time (AFT) models were used to estimate the probability of EBF and the factors associated with EBF duration in the first month. At 30 days of age, 36.7% of the studied population (95% confidence interval [CI] 33.6-39.8) were exclusively breastfed, with a median duration of 16 days. Considering all eligible children for follow-up, the probability of EBF in the first month was 43.7% (95% CI 40.4-46.8), and the median duration was 30 days. The duration of EBF (time-ratio, TR) was 28% longer among multiparous mothers (TR 1.28; 95% CI 1.11-1.48). The use of a pacifier and the occurrence of wheezing were associated with a reduced EBF duration by 33% (TR 0.67; 95% CI 0.58-0.77) and 19% (TR 0.80; 95% CI 0.70-0.93), respectively. These results highlight that EBF among children in the Brazilian Amazon is considerably below international recommendations, and indicate the immediate need to plan and implement actions to promote and support breastfeeding early in life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart of participants in the MINA-Brazil birth cohort study for analysis of exclusive breastfeeding practice during the first month of life.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Kaplan-Meier survival curve for exclusive breastfeeding at 30 days of age in the MINA-Brazil birth cohort study.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Survival function of time to cessation of EBF in the first month of age, adjusted for parity, use of pacifier and occurrence of wheezing in the MINA-Brazil birth cohort study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bhutta ZA, Ahmed T, Black RE, Cousens S, Dewey K, Giugliani E, et al. What works? Interventions for maternal and child undernutrition and survival. Lancet. 2008. February 2;371(9610):417–40. 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61693-6 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012, Issue 8 Art No CD003517. 2012. August 15; - PMC - PubMed
    1. Diallo FB, Bell L, Moutquin J-M, Garant M-P. The effects of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities in Conakry. Pan Afr Med J. 2009. April 3;2:2 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Quigley MA, Kelly YJ, Sacker A. Breastfeeding and hospitalization for diarrheal and respiratory infection in the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study. Pediatrics. 2007. April;119(4):e837–842. 10.1542/peds.2006-2256 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Victora CG, Smith PG, Vaughan JP, Nobre LC, Lombardi C, Teixeira AM, et al. Evidence for protection by breast-feeding against infant deaths from infectious diseases in Brazil. Lancet (London, England). 1987. August 8;2(8554):319–22. - PubMed

Publication types