Successful breastfeeding after discharge of preterm and sick newborn infants

Aim: To determine the extent and duration of breastfeeding in preterm and sick newborn infants admitted to a level IIb neonatal unit (NU). Method: Hospital‐based follow‐up of 1730 infants born in 1996, 2001 and 2004, and studied from discharge to 6 months of post‐natal age. Results: At discharge from the NU, 98% of term (n = 945) and 92% of preterm (n = 785) infants were exclusively or partly breastfed. Exclusive breastfeeding increased at 2 months of corrected post‐natal age and 78% of term infants were still exclusively or partly breastfed at 6 months of corrected post‐natal age. Duration of breastfeeding among preterm infants was significantly shorter than in infants born at term. However, even among extremely preterm infants with a gestational age