[Early discharge and breast-feeding]

Early discharge is often correlated with negative events such as feeding problems leading to hypernatremic dehydration and malnutrition and non initiation or premature cessation of breastfeeding. In the reality of Parma we have valued the impact of early discharge on breastfeeding, analyzing a cohort of 267 dyads, 134 of which were in the "late discharge" group and 133 in the "early discharge" group. Our study showed, according to the most recent literature, that early postpartum discharge did not negatively affect the start and length of breastfeeding: early discharge indeed, if associated with suppression of "hospital routines" and with home-based postpartum follow-up visits, is a determining factor for the success of breastfeeding.