Factors associated with the choice and duration of infant-feeding practice

A detailed review examines factors associated with the selection of breastfeeding and its duration, including problems in the design of research on the determinants of breastfeeding; difficulties in ascertaining which associative factors are specifically causative; demographic associative factors (educational level, social class status, parity); socio-cultural-economic associative factors (influence of friends, women's professional employment, infant formula advertising, infant formula expense, social standards); psychological variables influencing choice and duration of infant feeding options; influence of hospital and health care staff; biomedical factors; and breast milk capacity and nutritional adequacy. Recommendations for research on breastfeeding determinants are offered and discussed. (wz)