Department of Pediatrics, Yokohama City University Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.
Japan Breastfeeding Association, Tokyo, Japan.
Pediatr Int. 2022 Jan;64(1):e14943. doi: 10.1111/ped.14943.
To examine the effects of maternal age on breast-feeding, we classified mothers who delivered vaginally aged 20-42 into 1-year age groups and investigated breast-feeding states. We also studied differences between primiparas and multiparas in breast-feeding.
The subjects were 2,605 primipara mothers (age at delivery ranged from 16to 45 years; the gestational age of their infants ranged from 37 to 42 weeks, birthweight ranged from 2,501 to 4,300 g) and 3,261 multipara mothers (age 18-45 years; the gestational age of their infants ranged from 37-42 weeks, and their birthweight ranged from 2,502-4,726 g) at 12 baby-friendly hospitals in Japan.
The percentage of infants exclusively breast-fed at 1 week and 1 month after birth in the primipara mothers was 80% among mothers in their 20s but lower than 60% among mothers aged above 35. On the other hand, the percentage of infants exclusively breast-fed in the multipara mothers was almost 90% among mothers in their 20s and remained at 70% or over among mothers in their 40s. The percentage of infants exclusively breast-fed was significantly higher in the multipara mothers than in the primipara mothers in many age groups at both 1 week and 1 month of age.
The percentage of infants exclusively breast-fed rate decreased as the maternal age increased. We found that multipara mothers can breast-feed even in their 40s, but primipara mothers may encounter difficulty breast-feeding at ages above 35. Our results suggest a need to consider not only their age but number of children, i.e., breast-feeding experience, to provide effective support to breast-feeding mothers.
为了研究母亲年龄对母乳喂养的影响，我们将阴道分娩的 20-42 岁母亲按 1 岁为一组进行分类，并调查母乳喂养状态。我们还研究了初产妇和经产妇之间母乳喂养的差异。
研究对象为 2605 名初产妇母亲（分娩年龄为 16-45 岁；婴儿的胎龄为 37-42 周，出生体重为 2501-4300g）和 3261 名经产妇母亲（年龄 18-45 岁；婴儿的胎龄为 37-42 周，出生体重为 2502-4726g），均来自日本 12 家爱婴医院。
在 12 家爱婴医院中，20 多岁初产妇母亲的婴儿在出生后 1 周和 1 个月时纯母乳喂养的比例为 80%，但年龄在 35 岁以上的母亲的比例低于 60%。另一方面，20 多岁的经产妇母亲的婴儿纯母乳喂养比例几乎为 90%，而 40 多岁的母亲的比例仍保持在 70%以上。在许多年龄组中，1 周和 1 个月时，经产妇母亲的婴儿纯母乳喂养比例明显高于初产妇母亲。
随着母亲年龄的增长，婴儿纯母乳喂养的比例下降。我们发现，经产妇母亲即使在 40 多岁也可以母乳喂养，但初产妇母亲在 35 岁以上可能会遇到母乳喂养的困难。我们的结果表明，不仅要考虑母亲的年龄，还要考虑其生育次数，即母乳喂养经验，为母乳喂养的母亲提供有效的支持。
