Premature discontinuation of breastfeeding

This study was performed to describe the factors associated with a premature cessation of breastfeeding. Three hundred and forty nine women with a plan for prolonged breastfeeding over two months were interviewed during their hospital stay to define sociological and medical variables. One month after discharge, mothers were contacted by a physician for making out evolution of the breastfeeding. Eighty-eight (28%) women were no more breastfeeding their infant and were compared to the other 224 (64%) mothers. The main sociological factors influencing the cessation of breastfeeding were low education level (odds ratio 4.2 [95% CI 2.2-8.3]), and primiparity (odds ratio 2.1 [95% CI 1.1-3.9]). Pacifier use was associated with a lower duration of breastfeeding (odds ratio 2.5 [95% CI 1.4-4.5]). Medical predictive factors were infant weight loss (odds ratio 4.3 [95% CI 1.7-10.6]), respect of intervals between feeding times (odds ratio 2.1 [95% CI 1.1-4.4]), delay before the first feeding (odds ratio 1.9 [95% CI 1.0-3.6]). On the other hand formula supplementation was not related with cessation of breastfeeding. As the success of breastfeeding depends on maternal motivation, it seems essential to take into account mothers' plan to study breastfeeding duration. The knowledge of predictive factors of the cessation of breastfeeding should allow to identify mothers who need particularly the attention of healthcare professionals.