Full breastfeeding during the postpartum hospitalization and mothers' report regarding baby friendly practices.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to describe the opinion of a group of postpartum women about compliance with the Ten Steps in a hospital with the intention to be certified as a Baby Friendly Hospital.


METHODS
Two hundred (200) postpartum women age 20 or greater who had delivered a healthy full-term baby (37 weeks gestation) participated in the study. Data were gathered by means of a semi-structured questionnaire in the Spanish language. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square) were used for data analysis.


RESULTS
Thirty percent (30%) of participants were 21 to 26 years of age. Primiparas comprised 51% and legally or consensually married mothers comprised 89% of the study participants. Monthly family incomes with the highest frequencies were $0 to $2000 and $2001 to $3000, respectively. Full breastfeeding was being practiced by 43.5% of the mothers in the study, whereas 53.0% were breastfeeding partially. Compliance with the Ten Steps was perceived as deficient by 52% of the mothers, whereas only 5.5% perceived compliance as excellent. The perceived level of compliance with the Ten Steps is significantly associated with the type of breastfeeding (full or partial) in the inferential analyses (X(2) [3, n = 193] = 33.74, p = 0.00) and in the multiple logistic regression analyses (OR = 1.27, confidence interval [CI] = 1.14 - 1.43, p = 0.00). As the level of perceived compliance with the Ten Steps increases, the probability of full or exclusive breastfeeding also increases.


CONCLUSIONS
Compliance with the Ten Steps of the Baby Friendly Hospital from the perspective of the postpartum mother has an impact on the type of breastfeeding.
Health Services Research Program, and Sciences Campus, Graduate School of Public Health, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Mirza
M
Rivera-Lugo
Ana M
AM
Parrilla-Rodríguez
René Rolando
RR
Dávila-Torres
Carmen
C
Albizu-García
Ruth
R
Rios-Motta
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000592:standards*; D015285:Hospital-Patient Relations; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000523:psychology; D011647:Puerto Rico; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires