Effects of early breastfeeding education on maintenance of breastfeeding practice: A prospective observational study

Background: Breast feeding is an ideal feeding type for most infants and mothers. We evaluated the effect of early breast-feeding and prenatal education of breastfeeding in maintenance of breast-feeding practice after delivery. Methods: Eighty two pregnant women who experienced vaginal delivery were recruited from the department of obstetrics and gynecology of a university hospital between January 2006 and October 2006. These differences among variables were determined using SPSS ver. 10.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted 1 week and 4 weeks after delivery to check feeding method for baby and other complications. Results: We calculated the correlations among the pregnant women’s age, height, and weight, abortion experience, the newborn’s weight, and social factors using ANOVA. There was no statistically significant relationship between early breast-feeding and maintenance of breastfeeding practice. Conclusions: Antenatal and postpartum period education about breast-feeding is necessary for breast-feeding practice maintenance. Further studies in developing educational programs are needed.