[Breast feeding following hospital discharge]

The pattern of nursing following discharge from the hospital was investigated in 491 patients during 1980. A mean total duration of nursing of 20.02 weeks and a mean complete duration of nursing of 11.3 weeks was found. Early nursing following delivery does not have as significant an influence on the intensity of nursing as the proportion of nursing during the post-partum stay in hospital. Mothers who nursed completely during their stay in hospital continued to nurse for a longer time (24.3 weeks) as women who added half formula during their stay in hospital (mean nursing time 10.8 weeks). Parity did not influence the duration of nursing. However mothers over age 30 nursed much longer than younger mothers. Also women with more education nursed longer than women with less education. The type of delivery did not have a remarkable influence on the intensity of nursing. Female infants were nursed longer than male infants. The attitude of the marital partner on nursing was important for the duration of nursing. Mothers with a partner displaying a positive attitude to nursing nursed significantly longer than mothers with partners who were indifferent or negative to nursing (comparative mean duration of nursing 20.2 weeks versus 14.2 weeks). The main reason for weaning was hypogalactia (44.2%). Women with this reason for weaning had a much shorter total duration of nursing than women in the control group. Women with their first babies more often had no counselling on nursing after discharge from the hospital than women who had several children.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)