title: The effectiveness of a hospital-based program to promote exclusive breast-feeding among low-income women in Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the effectiveness of a hospital program to promote exclusive breast-feeding in Santos, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective design, women who delivered at a hospital with an active breast-feeding promotion program (n = 236) were compared with women who delivered at a nearby control hospital (n = 206).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups had similar demographic characteristics and previous breast-feeding histories. Exposure to breast-feeding activities, assessed by maternal recall prior to discharge, was universally high at the program hospital and universally low at the control hospital. Multivariate survival analysis showed that exclusive breast-feeding lasted 53 days longer among women who delivered at the program hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hospital-based breast-feeding promotion programs may be effective in extending the duration of exclusive breast-feeding.
authors.affiliation: Wellstart International, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lutter
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perez-Escamilla
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Segall
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sanghvi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Teruya
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wickham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011203:Poverty; D011446:Prospective Studies