Baby-Friendly Hospital: prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months and intervening factors *

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify the pattern of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in the first 6 months of infants born in a Baby-Friendly Hospital and the factors that contribute to early weaning. This was a prospective cohort study with 261 mothers and children. The data were analyzed via the construction of a Kaplan-Meier survival curve, and the log-rank test was used for the univariate analysis. A multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox proportional-hazards regression model. During the 6 months, the percentage of mothers who practiced EBF for 30, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days was 75%, 52%, 33%, 19% and 5.7%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the variables that conferred a risk for early weaning were the hospital and the occurrence of a follow-up visit due to mammary complication, improper positioning and the association of both of these factors. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative favored EBF.