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  • Title: Biological and behavioral predictors of exclusive breastfeeding duration.
    Author: Quandt SA.
    Journal: Med Anthropol; 1985; 9(2):139-51. PubMed ID: 3836320.
    Abstract:
    This paper examines the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in a sample of American women for whom lactation has been established. It uses social, biological, and behavioral variables to construct a predictive model. The sample consists of 62 infants born between January 1978 and September 1980 to a group of low risk white primiparae in Lansing, Michigan, who are participants in a longitudinal nutrition study of 91 mother-infant pairs. 29 of the infants were male and the remainder female. Infant dietary intake data were collected at 8-day intervals from .5 to 6 months of age on 24-hour diet records completed by the mothers. Mothers recorded the type and quantity of food consumed, as well as the time of consumption. For breastfeeding, mothers recorded the duration in minutes of active sucking for each feeding. Infant growth data were collected periodically. Duration of breastfeeding ranged from 36 days to beyond the length of the study--6 months. The greatest attrition from exclusive breastfeeding occured in the 5th month. Maternal education is not the strongest predictor of duration of exclusive breastfeeding. It affects duration of exclusive breastfeeding as a set of values and beliefs about infant feeding independent of the biologically significant behaviors of actural breastfeeding. 2 groups of mothers are likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding of short duration: mothers with lower levels of formal education and mothes whose knowledge of breastfeeding, home schedule, or infant behavior leads them to feed their infants at long intervals, especially at night. Further research is needed to study why particular nursing styles develop.
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