Some women may quit breastfeeding after only a few weeks not
because of a lack of knowledge about how to breastfeed and its many
benefits, but because of a lack of confidence.
Researchers from Ankara University in Turkey studied 64 women enrolled
in a health program for low-income women and children in Connecticut.
The women in the study were mostly single and minorities. The
researchers found that even though nearly all the women in the study
knew the benefits of breastfeeding, almost 90 percent of the women had
stopped breastfeeding after one month. After four months, 89 percent had
quit nursing, and 70 percent had quit after two months. And as early as
the first week, 27 percent of the women studied had quit breastfeeding.
These breastfeeding rates fall short of the expectations the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services set last year - that half
of all U.S. babies should be breastfed for six months.
According to the researchers, new mothers who were not confident they
would nurse longer than two months were more than twice as likely to
quit after only two weeks. And moms who believed their babies preferred
the bottle were one and a half times more likely to quit after two
weeks.
The study concluded that not only do new moms need to learn about the
benefits of breastfeeding, but they must also gain confidence that they
can have a successful breastfeeding relationship.
Source: Pediatrics 2001;107:543-548
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