Abstract
Abstract
Background
While exclusive breastfeeding is recommended to 6 months of age, just 15% of mothers in Australia achieve this. The rate appears to be even lower among mothers born in China, where 90% have introduced infant formula by this time. This study aimed to examine infant feeding patterns in the first 12 months of life and the factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months of age and infant formula introduction by 1 month of age among Chinese Australian mothers.
Methods
Chinese Australian women with a child aged 1 to 4 years born in Australia were recruited through social media and asked to complete an online survey. Chinese ethnicity was defined as the mother or her parents having been born in mainland China, Taiwan or Hong Kong. Infant feeding practices since birth and a range of psychosocial and cultural factors were assessed. A total of 289 Chinese Australian mothers completed the survey. The relationships between exposure variables and exclusive breastfeeding at 4 months or infant formula use by 1 month were examined using multivariable logistic regression.
Results
Almost all (93%) mothers initiated breastfeeding, however by 1 month of age exclusive breastfeeding rates reduced to 44%, with a further decline to 33 and 18% at 4 and 6 months respectively. Concurrently, 7% of parents reported infant formula feeding at birth increasing to 55 and 63% at 1 and 6 months of age respectively. The rates of any breastfeeding were 81% at 6 months and 50% at 12 months of age. Breastfeeding intention, self-efficacy and awareness of the infant feeding guidelines were key factors associated with sustained exclusive breastfeeding to 4 months.
Conclusions
While Chinese Australian mothers had comparable exclusive breastfeeding rates at 6 months to the general Australian population, twice as many had introduced infant formula by 1 month of age. There is an urgent need to support Chinese Australian mothers in the perinatal period to strengthen their knowledge, intention and confidence to delay early introduction of infant formula and promote exclusive breastfeeding in the early postpartum period.
Funder
Australian Research Council
Deakin University Higher Degree Research Scholarship
Honorary National Heart Foundation of Australia Future Leader Fellowship
Australian National Health Medical Research Council
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Obstetrics and Gynecology,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Reference64 articles.
1. National Health and Medical Research Council. Infant feeding guidelines information for health workers 2012. www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/n56.14. Accessed 14 Mar 2019.
2. World Health Organization. Global strategy for infant and young child feeding. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003. Available from: http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/gs_infant_feeding_text_eng.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2019.
3. World Health Organization. Indicators for assessing infant and young children feeding practices conclusions of a consensus meeting held 6–8 November 2007 in Washington D.C., USA. 2008. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43895/9789241596664_eng.pdf;jsessionid=9EB038C30C56906AA61A1B4890CE64E3?sequence=1.13/10/2018. Accessed 10 Feb 2019.
4. Victora CG, Bahl R, Barros AJD, França GVA, Horton S, Krasevec J, et al. Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. Lancet. 2016;387(10017):475–90.
5. Papoutsou S, Savva SC, Hunsberger M, Jilani H, Michels N, Ahrens W, et al. Timing of solid food introduction and association with later childhood overweight and obesity: the IDEFICS study. Matern Child Nutr. 2018;14(1):e12471.
Cited by
11 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献