Breast feeding at maternity hospitals in France in 1995. National perinatal survey
The objectives of the study were to estimate the current level of breast-feeding at hospital discharge in France, and to identify maternal factors and characteristics of the pregnancy and delivery associated with breast-feeding. The sample included all births during 1 week in France in 1995 (n = 12,...
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Published in | Archives de pédiatrie : organe officiel de la Société française de pédiatrie Vol. 5; no. 12; pp. 1316 - 1326 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | French |
Published |
France
01.12.1998
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The objectives of the study were to estimate the current level of breast-feeding at hospital discharge in France, and to identify maternal factors and characteristics of the pregnancy and delivery associated with breast-feeding.
The sample included all births during 1 week in France in 1995 (n = 12,179 babies). The data were collected during the postnatal stay in hospital. Factors associated with breast-feeding were identified, using bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression. As the relations between the studied factors and breast-feeding differed between French women and women of foreign nationality, multivariate analysis was carried out separately in the two groups.
In 1995, 52% of babies were breastfed at hospital discharge, including 10% of babies partially breastfed. Breastfeeding was more common among women of foreign nationality than among French women, 76 vs 49%. In both groups, breastfeeding was more common among older women, women with a high level of education or a qualified occupation; breastfeeding was also more frequent among non smokers during pregnancy and among women who attended antenatal classes. On the contrary, among French women, induction of labour and delivery in a small hospital were associated with a low level of breastfeeding; among women of foreign nationality, a low level of breastfeeding was observed for unmarried women, women who had an induction or a caesarean section, and those who delivered in a private hospital.
France was at the lowest level among Western countries for which national data on breastfeeding were available. Efforts to promote breastfeeding are needed, both towards sub-groups of pregnant women and towards health professionals. Maternity hospitals should provide support to breastfeeding mothers, and avoid practices which may affect breastfeeding. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0929-693X |