Previous breastfeeding experience and duration of any and exclusive breastfeeding among multiparous mothers.

Abstract

High breastfeeding attrition rates have been attributed to a number of factors, but the effect of previous breastfeeding experience on subsequent breastfeeding duration has not been adequately investigated. In this study, 559 multiparous mothers were recruited and followed prospectively for 12 months or until the infant was weaned. When compared with having previously breastfed for >3 months, no previous breastfeeding experience (HR 3.24 [95% CI 2.37-4.42]) or a breastfeeding duration of ≤3months (HR 2.56; 95% CI 2.05?3.20) substantially increased the risk of early weaning. Similarly, participants who had not exclusively breastfed (HR 1.82 [95% CI 1.46?2.26]) or who had exclusively breastfed for ≤2 months (HR 1.65 [95% CI 1.29?2.10]) were more likely to stop exclusive breastfeeding when compared with those who had exclusively breastfed for >2 months. More than 40 percent of the participants who had previously breastfed for >3 months had shorter current breastfeeding durations. The median decreases in any and exclusive breastfeeding for this group were 16.4weeks and 13.1weeks, respectively. Multiparous women with no previous breastfeeding experience and those with a short duration of previous breastfeeding should be provided with greater support to promote a longer duration of breastfeeding. Multiparous women with a longer duration of breastfeeding should be strongly encouraged to meet or exceed this duration with their current infant.