670 - Mothers’ Intentions to Breastfeed for 6 months Correlates with Breastfeeding Duration in a Diverse Population

Publication Number: 670.5941

Henry Bernstein, Cohen Children's Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Anusha Panjwani, Cohen Children's Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Sara C. Popofsky, Cohen Children's Medical Center/General Pediatrics, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Angela Beatriz Cabrera, Cohen Children's Medical Center/General Pediatrics, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Chang Yan, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; Danielle T. Fisenne, Cohen Children's Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Cathie Spino, University of Michigan, Toledo, OH, United States

Background: Mothers’ Intentions to Breastfeed for 6 months Correlate with Breastfeeding Duration in a Diverse Population

Objective: To evaluate if maternal intention to breastfeed is a predictor of breastfeeding exclusivity and duration at 6 months.

Design/Methods: Breastfeeding mother-infant dyads were recruited, consented, and randomized for a longitudinal breastfeeding education study. Dyads were recruited at their first newborn visit, within 1 week of birth, at a general pediatrics clinic serving a diverse Queens/Long Island, NY population. Eligibility criteria included healthy, English or Spanish-speaking participants. At the newborn visit, mothers self-reported how many months they planned to breastfeed. Reasons for the intended duration were not collected. At newborn, 1-3 week, 1-month, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month visits, mothers reported infant feeding. Cox models for interval-censored data and corresponding Kaplan Meier plots were used to examine the relationship between maternal intention to breastfeed (≥ 6 versus < 6 months) and actual duration of breastfeeding and breastfeeding exclusivity. Multivariable analyses controlled for potential confounders including race and ethnicity, education level, WIC status, and anticipated support for the baby.

Results: The population (n=313) was 36% Asian, 30% Black, 15% other, and 11% white; and 27% Hispanic or Latino. The median age of mothers was 31.6 years, 49% had less than a bachelor’s degree, and 34% were enrolled in WIC. Most mothers (91%) intended to breastfeed for at least 6 months. Median time to stopping breastfeeding was 4.5 months in mothers who intended to breastfeed for at least 6 months while mothers who intended to breastfeed less than 6 months stopped earlier (median 4 months) (Figure 1). Mothers who intended to breastfeed for < 6 months were more at risk to stop breastfeeding earlier by 177% compared with mothers who intended to breastfeed for at least 6 months (HR=2.77; 95% CI: 1.20, 6.40; p=0.02). There was no statistical difference in breastfeeding exclusivity between mothers who intended to breastfeed for at least 6 months and those who intended to breastfeed for < 6 months (HR=1.46; p=0.97).

Conclusion(s): Breastfeeding cessation among a diverse population of mothers correlated with breastfeeding intention. This underscores the importance of lactation support, especially for mothers with shorter breastfeeding intentions.

Figure 1: Kaplan-Meier Estimate of Stopping to Breastfeed by Intention