[Maternal and neonatal factors associated with successful breastfeeding in very preterm infants]

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of breastfeeding at NICU discharge in a population of very preterm infants. The secondary objective was to identify maternal, gestational, and neonatal factors associated with successful breastfeeding at NICU discharge.

This is a retrospective descriptive study. All live births before 32 weeks of gestational age (WGA) admitted to the NICU of the Amiens university hospital between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2011 were included in the study, excluding infants who died during hospitalization or infants transferred to another hospital. Data on mothers and newborns were collected from the medical record. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi(2) test for categorical variables and the Student t test for continuous variables. The significance threshold was set at P<0.05.

Seventy-seven infants were included in the study. While 66% of the mothers wished to breastfeed at birth, the success rate of breastfeeding at hospital discharge was only 38%. The proportion of married women was significantly higher in the "successful breastfeeding" group (P=0.029). No significant difference was demonstrated regarding maternal age, maternal profession, proportion of non-smoking mothers, parity, type of pregnancy, type of delivery, duration of invasive ventilation and oxygen dependency, and surgery during hospitalization.

The rate of breastfeeding of very preterm infants at hospital discharge is lower than the rates reported in the literature. The mother's marital status significantly influences the decision to breastfeed very preterm infants at discharge.