OBJECTIVES The benefits of breastfeeding for cognitive development continue to be hotly debated but are yet to be supported by conclusive empirical evidence. METHODS We used here a latent growth curve modeling approach to test the association of breastfeeding with IQ growth trajectories, which allows differentiating the variance in the IQ starting point in early life from variance in IQ gains...

BACKGROUND Whilst 81 % of UK women initiate breastfeeding, there is a steep decline in breastfeeding rates during the early postnatal period, with just 55 % of women breastfeeding at six weeks. 80 % of these women stopped breastfeeding sooner than they intended, with women citing feeding difficulties and lack of adequate support. As part of efforts to increase breastfeeding continuation rates, ...

BACKGROUND Despite the importance of early initiation of and exclusive breastfeeding, prelacteal feeds continue to pose a barrier to optimal breastfeeding practices in several countries, including Vietnam. This study examined the factors associated with prelacteal feeding among Vietnamese mothers. METHODS Data from 6068 mother-child (<6 m) dyads were obtained from a cross-sectional survey con...

Breastfeeding improves maternal and child health. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, with continued breastfeeding for at least 1 year. However, in the US, only 18.8% of infants are exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age. For mothers who initiate breastfeeding, the early post-partum period sets the stage for sustained breastfeeding. Mothers w...

Objectives. This study was conducted to determine whether maternal quality of life (QOL) and breastfeeding difficulties influence the continuation of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Methods. In a survey, 358 consecutive pregnant women filled out a quality of life questionnaire in the third trimester of pregnancy and the breastfeeding experience scale at 4 weeks postpartum. We assessed breastfeed...

This article has two aims: first, to give an historic overview of the nature-nurture debate in relation to how mothers learn to breastfeed. The overview will relate how the 'nurture' perspective came to dominate our understanding of the ontogeny of breastfeeding. The second aim is to propose professional breastfeeding competencies in an attempt to integrate the 'nature' perspective within early...

Appropriate feeding practices are the key contributor to reducing morbidities and mortalities in under-five children. A cross-sectional questionnaire based survey of mothers of children aged less than 5years was conducted in 781 mothers. More than half of mothers (57.5%) started feeding within an hour of birth, 55.9% gave exclusive breastfeeding for six months, 89.1% of the mothers stopped brea...

Method 1,303 exclusively breastfeeding (EBF) infants were recruited to the EAT Study at 3 months of age and randomized to either EBF until around 6 months of age (Standard Introduction Group SIG) or early introduction of 6 allergenic foods (cow’s milk, egg, fish, wheat, sesame and peanut) alongside breastfeeding (Early Introduction Group EIG). Data from the UK 2010 Infant Feeding Survey (IFS) w...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to describe and compare breastfeeding practices in rural and urban areas of Vietnam and to study associations with possibly influencing person and household factors. This type of study has not been conducted in Vietnam before. METHODS Totally 2,690 children, born from 1st March 2008 to 30th June 2010 in one rural and one urban Health and Demographic Survei...

Background Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) between mother and newborn offers numerous protective effects, however it is an intervention that has been under-utilized. Our objectives are to understand which newborns in Bangladesh and Nigeria receive SSC and whether SSC is associated with the early initiation of breastfeeding. Methods Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data were used to study the ch...