title: Effects of support on the initiation and duration of breastfeeding.
abstract: Researchers attempted to increase the initiation of breastfeeding and its duration to 6 months among a group of low-income, Hispanic women through an intervention program which included prenatal education and home based postpartum support. All participants were telephoned after delivery to determine infant feeding method. Duration of breastfeeding was determined by counting the number of days from initiation to the last day the baby was put to the breast. The Bayesian approach was used for the statistical analyses. In the intervention group, the propensity to initiate breastfeeding exceeded that of the control group. Results indicate the intervention group had twice (2.31) the odds of starting breastfeeding, twice (1.84-3.15) the odds of continuing to breastfeed for 6 months, and only half (.50-.54) the tendency to quit at any one time than did the control group.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Nursing, San Antonio 78229, USA. gills@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Sara L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reifsnider
authors.forename: Joseph F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lucke
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016015:Logistic Models; D017058:Mexican Americans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011181:Postnatal Care; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012944:Social Support; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors