Improving breastfeeding rates in an "at risk" population.
A new public health frontier challenging maternity care is addressing the sub-optimal breastfeeding rates of women who are obese. Despite the World Health Organisation's recommendation that breastfeeding is initiated within the first hour of birth and continued exclusively for six months, less than half of infants and young children globally are optimally breastfed. While initiation rates of exclusive breastfeeding immediately after birth are as high as 90 percent in Australia, this rate dramatically declines in the first few weeks postpartum, with only approximately 15 percent of infants exclusively breastfed to five months of age (less than 6 months). The aim of this paper was to highlight difficulties obese women have breastfeeding and highlight implications for research and practice.
Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Australia. kate.mellor@menzies.edu.au
Kate
K
Mellor
Helen
H
Skouteris
Cate
C
Nagle
D001315:Australia; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009765:Obesity; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D035862:Vulnerable Populations