Baby‐Friendly Hospital designation has a sustained impact on continued breastfeeding

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15536632
AutoresAnna Spaeth (0000-0002-3572-6819, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, autor de correspondencia), Elisabeth Zemp (Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute), Sonja Merten (0000-0003-4115-106X, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute), Julia Dratva (0000-0002-9003-2027, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences)
Año2017
Volumen14
Número1
Fecha de publicación2017-08-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaMaternal and Child Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1740-8695 • E-ISSN: 1740-8709
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/mcn.12497
PMID28795789
OpenAlexW2742446206
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas23

The Baby-Friendly Hospital (BFH) Initiative has led to an increase in breastfeeding rates and duration worldwide. But little is known about whether the beneficial effects persist beyond a facility's designation as a BFH. To investigate the association of BFH designation (current, former, and never) and compliance with Baby-Friendly (BF) practices on breastfeeding in Switzerland, this study combined nationwide survey data on breastfeeding with BFH monitoring data. In this cross-sectional study, 1,326 children were born in 34 current (N = 508), 28 former (N = 425), and 34 never designated BFHs (N = 393). We compared exclusive and any breastfeeding according to BFH designation over the first year of life, using Kaplan-Meyer Survival curves. Logistic regression models were applied to analyse breastfeeding prevalence, and Cox-regression models were used for exclusive (0-6 months) and continued (6-12 months) breastfeeding duration. Average duration of exclusive breastfeeding (13.1 weeks, 95% confidence interval [12.0, 17.4]) and any breastfeeding (32.7 weeks, 95% confidence interval [30.5, 39.2]) were the longest for babies born in currently accredited BFHs. Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with high compliance with monitored BF practices in current BFHs and with the number of BF practices experienced in all hospitals. Continued breastfeeding was significantly longer when babies were born in current BFHs (cessation hazard ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval [0.42, 0.84]) or in former BFHs (cessation hazard ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval [0.48, 0.97]). Overall, the results support continued investment into BFHs, because babies born in current BFHs are breastfed the most and the longest, whereas a former BFH designation shows a sustained effect on continued breastfeeding

Breast feeding · Breastfeeding · Confidence interval · Cross-sectional study · Hazard ratio · Logistic regression · Obstetrics · Proportional hazards model · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues · Demography · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Internal Medicine · Pediatrics