Exclusive Breastfeeding and Factors Influencing Its Abandonment During the 1st Month Postpartum Among Women From Semi-rural Communities in Southeast Mexico

Inocente Manuel Vázquez-Osorio; Rodrigo Vega-Sánchez; Eric Maas-Mendoza; Solange Heller Rouassant; María Eugenia Flores-Quijano

doi:10.3389/fped.2022.826295

Exclusive Breastfeeding and Factors Influencing Its Abandonment During the 1st Month Postpartum Among Women From Semi-rural Communities in Southeast Mexico

Front Pediatr. 2022 Feb 18:10:826295. doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.826295. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Inocente Manuel Vázquez-Osorio^{1

2}, Rodrigo Vega-Sánchez³, Eric Maas-Mendoza¹, Solange Heller Rouassant^{3

4}, María Eugenia Flores-Quijano³

Affiliations

¹ Licenciatura de Nutrición, División Académica de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, Mexico.
² Jurisdicción Sanitaria 4 del Municipio de Centro, Secretaría de Salud, Villahermosa, Mexico.
³ Departamento de Nutrición y Bioprogramación, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁴ Private Practitioner, Naucalpan, Estado de México, Mexico, Mexico.

Abstract

Introduction: In this study we describe breastfeeding practices among women from semi-rural communities in southeast Mexico, and explore which factors, modifiable or not, are associated with such practices.

Materials and methods: This was a formative cross-sectional study that included 143 mothers with infants 4-6 months old, from semi-rural communities in Tabasco, Mexico. We collected data on two categories of factors: (1) women's sociodemographic characteristics, and (2) maternal / infant factors. We first analyzed the frequency of various breastfeeding practices. Then, we classified participants into the up to 1 month of exclusive breastfeeding group ( ≤ 1 m-EBF) and the beyond 1 month EBF group (>1 m-EBF), if they practiced EBF for less or more than 1 month, respectively. We compared the two categories of factors between groups and then, using logistic regression models, explored which factors were associated with practicing >1 m-EBF.

Results: By the end of the 1st month postpartum, 51.7% of participants had abandoned EBF, introduced milk formula (35%), other food (9.1%), non-nutritive liquids (7.7%), or had stopped breastfeeding completely. In the next months, EBF practice fell sharply and mixed feeding grew importantly.Logistic regression models showed that women were more likely to be in the >1 m-EBF group if they lived with the baby's father, had complications during pregnancy, delivered vaginally and attended a health center at least three times postpartum. To the contrary, women were less likely to be practice >1 m-EBF if they gave infants other liquids during their hospital stay; experienced pain or discomfort in breasts/nipples, or used a pacifier after hospitalization; had larger bodies (i.e., higher BMI); and believed that you should give the infant powdered milk or some other food when the baby is not full.

Conclusion: Many factors associated with abandoning EBF, particularly in the early postpartum period, are modifiable and can be altered through timely interventions that include giving correct information and ensuring its comprehension; assertive personal counseling and accompaniment must be provided to mothers; and reinforcement during the early postpartum at health facilities and other settings.

Keywords: Mexico; Tabasco (Mexico); breastfeeding; breastfeeding beliefs; exclusive breastfeeding (EBF); food insecurity; infant feeding; social determinants of health.