Intention and reality in infant feeding.

Eighty women in a Nottingham practice completed antenatal and postnatal questionnaires about breastfeeding: 94% agreed that breastmilk was better than infant formula, but only 76% intended to breastfeed. The study confirms previous reports that primiparous women have a higher breastfeeding failure rate (45% had stopped by eight weeks). Women who gave later first feeds, or who were offered supplementary feeds in the postnatal ward, were more likely to be bottlefeeding at eight weeks. Hospital stays of less than 24 hours were strongly associated with successful feeding. Mothers receive little breastfeeding support from family or friends in the immediate postnatal period.