engleski

Maternal reasons for stopping breastfeeding before 3, 6, 12 & 24 months

BACKGROUND: Studies in Croatia have shown that most mothers begin breastfeeding in hospital, with initiation rates as high as 99% among mothers of healthy term infants. Unfortunately, breastfeeding rates decline rapidly after discharge with 60.6% of mothers breastfeeding at 3 months, 43.3% at 6 months, 22.4% at 12 months and only 4.1% at 24 months, despite WHO recommendations to breastfeed 2 years. AIM: To explore the reasons why mothers in Croatia stop breastfeeding. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: This cohort study included a random sample of 342 mothers who gave birth to healthy, term infants between April and July 2011, at the University Hospital of Split, Croatia. Mothers were contacted by telephone around 3, 6, 12 and 24 months postpartum, or up to the time that they stopped breastfeeding, to determine the mode of infant feeding in the previous 24 hours. Breastfeeding definitions recommended by WHO were used. Descriptive statistics were applied for data analysis. RESULTS: The proportion of mothers who were no longer breastfeeding at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months was 27.8%, 47.1%, 71.4% and 82.2%, respectively. Maternal reasons for stopping breastfeeding are shown in Figures 1-4. The most common reason cited at 3, 6 and 12 months was “not enough milk/no milk”, whereas at 24 months it was “baby refuses the breast”. CONCLUSION: A small increase in breastfeeding rates is apparent, in comparison with earlies studies, but the majority of mothers still stop breastfeeding by 12 months, despite being entitled to 12 months of paid maternity leave in Croatia. This indicates a lack of overall support for breastfeeding mothers in the community and presents an opportunity for health professionals to take a leading role in protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding women.

breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, reasons for stopping breastfeeding, Croatia

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