Effects of early breastfeeding education on maintenance of breastfeeding practice: A prospective observational study

Tae-Hee Kim, Hae-Hyeog Lee, Junsik Park, Seyeon Jang, Minjung Kim

Department of Food and Nutrition, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Bucheon, South Korea.

DOI: 10.4236/ojn.2013.32028                

Abstract

Background: Breast feeding is an ideal feeding type for most infants and mothers. We evaluated the effect of early breast-feeding and prenatal education of breast- feeding in maintenance of breast-feeding practice after delivery. Methods: Eighty two pregnant women who experienced vaginal delivery were recruited from the department of obstetrics and gynecology of a university hospital between January 2006 and October 2006. These differences among variables were determined using SPSS ver. 10.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted 1 week and 4 weeks after delivery to check feeding method for baby and other complications. Results: We calculated the correlations among the pregnant women’s age, height, and weight, abortion experience, the newborn’s weight, and social factors using ANOVA. There was no statistically significant relationship between early breast-feeding and maintenance of breast-feeding practice. Conclusions: Antenatal and post- partum period education about breast-feeding is necessary for breast-feeding practice maintenance. Further studies in developing educational programs are needed.

Keywords

Breastfeeding; Education; Postpartum Period

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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