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  • Title: Breastfeeding intentions, patterns, and determinants in infants visiting hospitals in La Paz, Bolivia.
    Author: Ludvigsson JF.
    Journal: BMC Pediatr; 2003 Jun 22; 3():5. PubMed ID: 12818005.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Recent ecological research from Latin America has shown that infant health could be promoted through exclusive breastfeeding in infants aged 0-3 months and partial breastfeeding throughout the remainder of infancy. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study in 1995, the author interviewed 518 mothers with infants leq; 1 year in La Paz, Bolivia, to describe the breastfeeding pattern and its determinants including socio-economic, religious and ethnic background. RESULTS: The rate of any breastfeeding remained above 85% during the first year. Exclusive breastfeeding rates fell from 89% at one week of age to 45% as early as one month of age, and then gradually declined to 20-25% in 6-month-old infants. The overall exclusive breastfeeding rate in infants < 4 months was 46% (n = 246). The use of prelacteal feeds (p < 0.0001, n = 436), not feeding the infant colostrum (p = 0.0008, n = 436), and Latin ethnicity (p = 0.0091, n = 436) were associated with a shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Rural mothers were four times more likely to discard the colostrum than urban mothers (p = 0.0110, n = 501). Actual exclusive breastfeeding duration was shorter than what the mothers reported to be the ideal duration of exclusive breastfeeding for the infant. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Bolivian infants fell rapidly during the first months of life. Avoidance of prelacteal feeding and use of colostrum were associated with improved breastfeeding patterns.
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