Return to search

The Association between Birth Method and Successfulness of Exclusive Breastfeeding at the Time of Hospital Discharge at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital from March, 2011 through March, 2013

ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is important to children’s health and development in early years. It may also have implications for health in later life as it has been associated with some chronic non-communicable diseases including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the United States is estimated to be approximately 44% for a 3-month period and 24% for a 6-month period (CDC, 2008). There are many factors that influence whether or not a mother will be successful in exclusive breastfeeding, and one factor that has been identified with the success of this is delivery method.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not infant delivery method is associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Additionally, other environmental and personal factors examined included: intent, infant-to-breast within two hours of birth, as well as maternal race, parity, and age.
METHODOLOGY: Data were obtained from the Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Lactation Department through an agreement. The information was extracted from the patients’ medical charts between March, 2011 and March, 2013 by nurses in the lactation department. Descriptive statistical tests and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between delivery method and exclusive breastfeeding with analytic consideration given to significant environmental and personal maternal characteristics.
RESULTS: There was a statistically significant association between delivery method and exclusive breastfeeding (OR= .510, 95% CI= .375-.695) after adjusting for intent, whether or not baby was put to the breast within two hours of birth, maternal race, parity, and maternal age. Mothers who delivered via cesarean section were .510 times as likely to be exclusively breastfeeding at the time of hospital discharge when compared to mothers who delivered vaginally.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that there is a significant association between delivery method and exclusive breastfeeding, in that vaginally delivered babies were more likely to be exclusively breastfeeding compared to babies delivered via cesarean section. This result is consistent with other research, and it further supports recommendations for healthcare professionals to promote breastfeeding for the first six months of life. As aligned with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and WHO goals, exclusive breastfeeding should be thoroughly encouraged in addition to promoting natural (vaginal) birth options whenever possible. Further research regarding post-partum factors for both types of delivery that can lead to higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding is warranted.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:GEORGIA/oai:scholarworks.gsu.edu:iph_theses-1509
Date13 May 2016
CreatorsTintle, Sarah
PublisherScholarWorks @ Georgia State University
Source SetsGeorgia State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourcePublic Health Theses

Page generated in 0.0022 seconds