Abstract
BackgroundRecent ecological research from Latin America has shown that infant health could be promoted through exclusive breastfeeding in infants aged 0–3 months and partial breastfeeding throughout the remainder of infancy.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study in 1995, the author interviewed 518 mothers with infants ≤ 1 year in La Paz, Bolivia, to describe the breastfeeding pattern and its determinants including socio-economic, religious and ethnic background.ResultsThe rate of any breastfeeding remained above 85% during the first year. Exclusive breastfeeding rates fell from 89% at one week of age to 45% as early as one month of age, and then gradually declined to 20–25% in 6-month-old infants. The overall exclusive breastfeeding rate in infants < 4 months was 46% (n = 246). The use of prelacteal feeds (p < 0.0001, n = 436), not feeding the infant colostrum (p = 0.0008, n = 436), and Latin ethnicity (p = 0.0091, n = 436) were associated with a shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Rural mothers were four times more likely to discard the colostrum than urban mothers (p = 0.0110, n = 501). Actual exclusive breastfeeding duration was shorter than what the mothers reported to be the ideal duration of exclusive breastfeeding for the infant.ConclusionsThe rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Bolivian infants fell rapidly during the first months of life. Avoidance of prelacteal feeding and use of colostrum were associated with improved breastfeeding patterns.
Highlights
Recent ecological research from Latin America has shown that infant health could be promoted through exclusive breastfeeding in infants aged 0–3 months and partial breastfeeding throughout the remainder of infancy
A recent ecological study on breastfeeding showed that more than half of all infant deaths from diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections in Latin America are preventable by exclusive breastfeeding in infants aged 0–3 months and partial breastfeeding throughout the remainder of infancy[2]
Exclusive breastfeeding The time pattern of exclusive breastfeeding could be split into four phases: about 75–85% of the infants under 3 weeks of age were exclusively breastfed, and during the following 1–2 months about 40% of the infants were exclusively breastfed (Figure 1)
Summary
Recent ecological research from Latin America has shown that infant health could be promoted through exclusive breastfeeding in infants aged 0–3 months and partial breastfeeding throughout the remainder of infancy. A recent ecological study on breastfeeding showed that more than half of all infant deaths from diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections in Latin America are preventable by exclusive breastfeeding in infants aged 0–3 months and partial breastfeeding throughout the remainder of infancy[2]. Since 2001, the WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to the age of 6 months (World Health Assembly Resolution 55.25), based largely on work later published by Kramer and Kakuma[4]. In Bolivia, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in infants under 4 months of age has been found to be above 50%, with 14% of infants still being exclusively breastfed when 6–9 months old[5]. A later study in Bolivia (page number not for citation purposes)
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