Despite the fact that many health professionals promote
breastfeeding as the best feeding method for infants, the majority of
mothers - particularly young mothers - participating in federal
nutrition programs never breastfeed.
Delores James from the University of Florida and Ranjita Misra from
Truman State University in Missouri surveyed about 30,000 new mothers
- most of whom participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants and Children. Their result were published
in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
At the time of the study, less than 20 percent of young mothers were
breastfeeding, while 68 percent of adult mothers were nursing their
babies. The researchers also found that about 75 percent of young
mothers said they had never breastfed or breastfed for only a week,
while about 65 percent of adult mothers had never breastfed, or nursed
for only the first week.
The vast majority - 95 percent - of all mothers who participate in
federal nutrition programs start using formula for some feedings by
the second week after delivery, the researchers found.
The researchers suggest four ways to encourage more mothers to
continue breastfeeding: Educate more future mothers, fathers and
grandfathers about breastfeeding even before conception; encourage all
pregnant moms to seek health care as early as possible in their
pregnancies; use school-based prenatal education programs to promote
breastfeeding and develop breastfeeding materials specifically for
young mothers.
Mothers in the study who were more educated, started medical care in
the first trimester, were in their upper teens and were unmarried,
were more likely to continue breastfeeding.
A new mother may be encouraged to use formula, because free formula
samples are often provided during her baby's first year of life, the
researchers note. Other studies of have found that women who receive
free formula samples and marketing materials early on in their
pregnancies (namely while at their doctors' offices for prenatal
visits) are five times more likely to quit breastfeeding early on than
women who never receive free formula samples.
Read
more about that study here.
Source: Journal of American Dietetic Association 2000;100:1701-1073
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