Continued Breastfeeding in a Birth Cohort in the Western Amazon of Brazil: Risk of Interruption and Associated Factors.

BACKGROUND

Continued breastfeeding reduces infant mortality and provides nutritional, immunological, and developmental benefits for the child.

OBJECTIVES

A prospective cohort study conducted in 2015 followed 608 children who were breastfed between 6 and 24 months. The study assessed the risk of breastfeeding interruption at 12, 18, and 24 months, as well as the factors associated with this outcome, in a cohort of newborns in Rio Branco, using the life table method.

METHODS

The factors associated with breastfeeding cessation and their 95% confidence intervals (CI95%) were analyzed using both crude and adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression in a hierarchical model. The risks of breastfeeding cessation at 12, 18, and 24 months were 19%, 65%, and 71%, respectively.

RESULTS

Factors positively associated with the risk of breastfeeding cessation include the use of a pacifier before 6 weeks of age (HR = 1.62; CI: 95% 1.24-2.11) and the use of a bottle during the first year of life (HR = 1.41; CI: 95% 1.11-1.78). Maternal return to work after the birth of the baby (HR = 0.78; CI: 95% 0.62-0.97) was found to be negatively associated with the risk of breastfeeding interruption.

CONCLUSIONS

Early pacifier use before 6 weeks and the introduction of a bottle in the first year affect continued breastfeeding. Maternal employment was associated with reduced risk of breastfeeding cessation, contrary to most studies.