Zimmerman Deena R, Brooks Nati, Wasser Janice, Vaknin-Alon Linoy, Dweck Tunie, Alroy-Preis Sharon
Public Health Directorate, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
Digital and Data Technologies Division, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
Isr J Health Policy Res. 2025 May 13;14(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s13584-025-00689-1.
Monitoring breastfeeding rates has important health policy implications, as breastfeeding has significant positive impacts on maternal and child health and healthcare costs. This up-to-date, national, population-based breastfeeding rates study in Israel provides important information for health policy development.
Breastfeeding rates were determined for the years 2016-2022 by retrospective analysis of Machshava Briah electronic medical records used by many Israeli Maternal and Child Health Clinics. This reflects approximately 70% of Israeli children with a nationwide distribution. Comparisons were conducted measuring breastfeeding rates over time and between different sub-groups.
The dataset consists of 945,437 infant records. The percentages of women with any breastfeeding as well as exclusive breastfeeding have shown a gradual decline annually from 2016 to 2022 and are lower than international goals. Sub-group analyses were conducted for 2022. Breastfeeding rates were higher among multipara mothers (versus primapara). Singleton mothers had much higher breastfeeding rates than twin mothers with the difference even more pronounced in exclusive breastfeeding rates. Mothers of preterm infants (< 37 weeks) and low birthweight infants breastfed less than mothers of full term infants and normal birthweight and were less likely to exclusively breastfeed. Mothers living in urban areas had the highest rates of breastfeeding and those living in rural areas had the lowest. A subanalysis performed at two months postpartum for 2022 found the effect of maternal age with the highest rates of breastfeeding among 20-24 year old mothers. Inter-pregnancy interval also had an effect with the highest rates among those whose last pregnancy was 21-33 months ago and the lowest rates among those with an interval of < 1 year.
The population-based data provides an important baseline marker. This study shows a drop in breastfeeding rates, indicating a need to investigate reasons for discontinuing breastfeeding and identifying possible areas for offering support. This data and similar follow-up studies provide the background evidence to warrant that Ministry of Health policies in the hospitals and in the community, help accomplish their goals.
监测母乳喂养率具有重要的卫生政策意义，因为母乳喂养对母婴健康和医疗成本有显著的积极影响。这项在以色列开展的最新的、基于全国人口的母乳喂养率研究为卫生政策制定提供了重要信息。
通过对许多以色列母婴健康诊所使用的Machshava Briah电子病历进行回顾性分析，确定2016年至2022年的母乳喂养率。这反映了约70%分布在全国的以色列儿童情况。进行了不同时间段以及不同亚组之间母乳喂养率的比较。
数据集包含945,437条婴儿记录。2016年至2022年，进行任何母乳喂养以及纯母乳喂养的女性比例逐年呈逐渐下降趋势，且低于国际目标。对2022年进行了亚组分析。经产妇母亲的母乳喂养率高于初产妇。单胎母亲的母乳喂养率远高于双胎母亲，在纯母乳喂养率方面差异更为明显。早产（<37周）和低体重婴儿的母亲母乳喂养少于足月和正常体重婴儿的母亲，且纯母乳喂养的可能性更小。居住在城市地区的母亲母乳喂养率最高，农村地区的母亲最低。对2022年产后两个月进行的亚分析发现，母亲年龄有影响，20至24岁母亲的母乳喂养率最高。妊娠间隔也有影响，上次妊娠在21至33个月前的母亲母乳喂养率最高，间隔<1年的母亲母乳喂养率最低。
基于人群的数据提供了一个重要的基线指标。本研究显示母乳喂养率下降，表明需要调查停止母乳喂养的原因并确定可能提供支持的领域。这些数据及类似的后续研究提供了背景证据，以确保卫生部在医院和社区的政策有助于实现其目标。
