Breast-feeding and the mother's sentiment towards child rearing Analysis of database on health checkups

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to identify the breast-feeding rate and associated factors and to get better understanding on the mother's sentiment towards child rearing due to differences in feeding methods. This information can be used as primary sources providing effective support through community-based health care for mothers and infants.
Methods The study was carried out in Osaka city from April 2005 to December 2009. Data from the health-checkup records on infants aged 3–5 months were used after excluding any personal information. The data used included feeding methods (exclusive breast-feeding, mixed-feeding, and bottle-feeding), gestational age, multiple pregnancy status, gender, birth weight, use of an incubator, and birth year. Moreover, the data included the following maternal factors: planned or unplanned nature of pregnancy, smoking and drinking status during pregnancy, presence or absence of pregnancy-induced hypertension, maternal age at delivery, working status, presence or absence of financial anxiety, presence or absence of child-rearing support, presence or absence of individuals who can provide advice concerning child rearing, and sentiments of mothers during child rearing.
Results From April 2005 to December 2009, 2552 infants underwent health checkups designed for infants. Of these, data on 2476 children, excluding 61 infants with unknown feeding methods and 15 infants aged 6 months, were used for analyses. The results showed that 56.6%, 28.7%, and 14.7% of children received exclusive breast-feeding, mixed-feeding, and bottle-feeding, respectively. Infant feeding methods were significantly associated with the birth year: in recent years, a decrease in the number of mothers who chose to bottle-feed their infants was observed. Furthermore, the feeding methods were associated with multiple births, birth weight, maternal smoking status during pregnancy, and maternal age at delivery. The results revealed that mothers who chose to breast-feed exclusively enjoyed child rearing at a significantly higher rate of 93.4%, compared to 88.4% of mothers who chose to bottle-feed or mixed-feed.
Conclusion The study revealed that among infants aged from 3 to 5 months, 57% and 15% were exclusively breast-fed and bottle-fed, respectively; additionally, the proportion of bottle-fed infants declined every year. A significantly larger number of exclusively breast-feeding mothers enjoyed child rearing than the bottle-feeding or mixed-feeding mothers. These feeding methods were associated with multiple births, birth weight, maternal smoking status during pregnancy, and maternal age at delivery.