Identifying which women will stop breast feeding before three months in primary care: a pragmatic study

In Britain only 42% of women who initiate breast feeding are still breast feeding at four months, despite well documented health benefits.

To explore whether sociodemographic and social support information collected routinely by health visitors at the new birth assessment can help predict which women will give up breast feeding before three months.

A survey of 279 consecutive births in three general practices in an inner-London borough. Health visitors collected sociodemographic, infant feeding, and social support data at the new birth assessment 10 to 14 days after birth and at an immunisation visit at three to four months after birth. A data collection form was piloted and used by health visitors as part of their routine clinical care. Stepwise logistic regression was performed on 160 women who initiated breast feeding to identify predictors for those who would still be breast feeding at three months.

Three variables were found to be significantly associated with breast feeding at three months. Younger women and women with moderate to poor emotional support as assessed by their health visitor were less likely to still be breast feeding at three months. White women who left full-time education at age 16 years or below are least likely to be breast feeding at three months but educational level is not a significant predictor for women from other ethnic backgrounds.

This pragmatic study illustrates how information collected during routine clinical care by health visitors can help predict which women will give up breast feeding before three months. This could be useful to identify women whose social support needs are not being met and who may benefit from local initiatives. Infant feeding researchers should consider the influence of ethnicity and levels of social support on breast feeding outcomes.