Characterization of the causes of mother-child exclusive breastfeeding practice abandonment among women of the kangaroo program in a university hospital

Caracterización de las causas de deserción madre-hijo en la práctica de lactancia materna exclusiva en el programa madre canguro en un hospital universitario

Introduction:  breastfeeding is the physiological act through which the mother feeds and provides the necessary nutrients to the newborn (NB). Both the WHO (World Health Organization) and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Colombia guidelines recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, and as a complementary food up to the age of two years, to achieve the nutritional benefits that must be conferred to the infant for his healthy development. Materials and methods: a descriptive cross-sectional prospective study. Mothers of preterm and low-birth-weight newborns enrolled in the Kangaroo Mother Program of our hospital, who interrupted breastfeeding to their infants at around 3 months corrected age, were included. Results: 124 patients were identified. The main reason for abandoning exclusive breastfeeding was the perception that breast milk production was low in 43.5% of the surveyed mothers; NB gestational age at birth was 32 to 36 weeks in 61.3% of infants. Discussion: exclusive breastfeeding during the first months of life warrants the integral development of the NB and factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding abandonment vary between populations; the main reasons should be analyzed, and measures should be implemented to encourage exclusive breastfeeding and thus prevent the abandonment of this fundamental practice.

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