The impact of various options of the prenatal informational preparation on the success of breastfeeding children

Abstract

Breastfeeding definitely has many benefits for the baby, the mother, and the family in general.

Aim - to study the impact of various methods of prenatal preparation on breastfeeding.

Materials and methods. The survey was conducted of 578 families that gave birth to children in the last 10 years. Families were divided into 8 groups depending on how they prepared for the birth of a child.

Results. Most had children in their first two years. During pregnancy, they more often planned to breastfeed. A third planned to breastfeed until 1-2 years. The chance that they would plan to breastfeed for 6 months was 5.4 times higher in the first group compared to the third, 4.3 times higher in the second versus the third. Most children received supplementation before breastfeeding at least once, most often formula. 80% first gave supplementation in the maternity hospital compared to the total number of families that supplemented with formula. The chance of giving formula in the maternity hospital was 2.5 times higher than not giving at all in the first and second groups. ²/₃ had problems with breastfeeding, the smallest chance in the fifth group. 70% sought help when problems first arose, most often in the fourth and fifth groups. Most of all, they turned to lactation consultants or doctors. Half believed that they could be helped. The chance of being able to help in the fourth group is 33 times greater than in the first, 17 times greater than in the second, and 68 times greater than in the eighth.

Conclusions. Most parents, regardless of the preparation level for the childbirth or without preparation at all, have plans to breastfeed their children, but the more information the family receives before the birth, the less likely: the child will receive supplemental formula; that there will be a problem with breastfeeding; the family is more likely to: seek help; that they will search help from a qualified specialist; that breastfeeding will last longer. The more the family is aware of issues related to BF during pregnancy, the more successful BF will be after the baby is born.

The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of all participating institutions. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.