Breast‐feeding rate comparison by parity and delivery age in Japan

• Published in: Pediatrics international Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. e14943 - n/a
• Main Authors: Nishimaki, Shigeru, Yamada, Manabu, Okutani, Takahiro, Hirabayashi, Madoka, Tanimura, Satoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Age; Age groups; baby‐friendly hospital; Birth Weight; Breast; Breast Feeding; Child; Feeding; Female; Gestational age; human milk; Humans; Infant; Infants; Japan - epidemiology; Mothers; Parity; Pediatrics; Pregnancy; Japan; breast-feeding; baby-friendly hospital; human milk
• ISSN: 1328-8067; 1442-200X
• DOI: 10.1111/ped.14943

Background To examine the effects of maternal age on breast‐feeding, we classified mothers who delivered vaginally aged 20–42 into 1‐year age groups and investigated breast‐feeding states. We also studied differences between primiparas and multiparas in breast‐feeding. Methods The subjects were 2,605 primipara mothers (age at delivery ranged from 16to 45 years; the gestational age of their infants ranged from 37 to 42 weeks, birthweight ranged from 2,501 to 4,300 g) and 3,261 multipara mothers (age 18–45 years; the gestational age of their infants ranged from 37–42 weeks, and their birthweight ranged from 2,502–4,726 g) at 12 baby‐friendly hospitals in Japan. Results The percentage of infants exclusively breast‐fed at 1 week and 1 month after birth in the primipara mothers was 80% among mothers in their 20s but lower than 60% among mothers aged above 35. On the other hand, the percentage of infants exclusively breast‐fed in the multipara mothers was almost 90% among mothers in their 20s and remained at 70% or over among mothers in their 40s. The percentage of infants exclusively breast‐fed was significantly higher in the multipara mothers than in the primipara mothers in many age groups at both 1 week and 1 month of age. Conclusions The percentage of infants exclusively breast‐fed rate decreased as the maternal age increased. We found that multipara mothers can breast‐feed even in their 40s, but primipara mothers may encounter difficulty breast‐feeding at ages above 35. Our results suggest a need to consider not only their age but number of children, i.e., breast‐feeding experience, to provide effective support to breast‐feeding mothers.