Counselling sessions increased duration of exclusive breastfeeding: a randomized clinical trial with adolescent mothers and grandmothers

Background: Considering that adolescent mothers may be more vulnerable to discontinuing exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) before 6 months and that their mothers may exert a negative influence on this practice, this study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the efficacy of breastfeeding counselling for adolescent mothers and their mothers in increasing EBF duration. Methods: A clinical trial was performed in 323 adolescent mothers with newborns and their mothers randomized in four groups: (1) not living with mother, without intervention; (2) not living with mother, with intervention; (3) living with mother, without intervention, (4) living with mother, with intervention. The intervention consisted of five counselling sessions directed to mother and grandmother, in the maternity hospital and on follow-up. Information about feeding practices during the newborn’s first six months of life was collected monthly by telephone. Intervention’s efficacy was measured through Cox regression and comparison of exclusive breastfeeding medians and survival curves for the different groups. Results: The intervention increased the duration of EBF by67 days for the group which included grandmothers (HR = 0.64; CI 95% = 0.46-0.90) and 46 days for the group which did not include grandmothers (HR = 0.52; CI 95% = 0.36-0.76). Conclusions: Counselling sessions in the first four months of children’s lives proved to be effective in increasing EBF duration among adolescent mothers

Breastfeeding in the neonatal transitional period at a Baby-Friendly Hospital

The objective of this study was to learn the breastfeeding rates in the neonatal transition period at a child-friendly hospital. A quantitative, exploratory, cross-sectional study was developed with 342 mother-baby pairs. Data were collected by means of interviews and analysis of medical records. Low breastfeeding rates were identified in the first hour of life of the newborns or neonatal reactivity period (53.2%). In the second transition period the rate was 20.7%, and 20.5% in the third period. Encouragement to breastfeeding is not appropriate for the phases of the neonatal transition period, as the rates for the first hour of life were expected to be higher than 90%, considering low risk newborns and births that occurred in a child-friendly hospital. Our findings indicate a need for adopting care strategies that favor the early contact and training of professionals at maternity hospitals toward the adequacy of breastfeeding to the neonatal transition period