Breastfeeding of mothers attending the outpatient clinic of Reina Sofia University Hospital (Cordoba, Spain)

Background: Although the beneficial effects of breastfeeding are well-known, the prevalence of breastfeeding in many developed countries is quite low. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of breastfeeding in the catchment area of Reina Sofia University Hospital of Cordoba (Spain). Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted for mothers attending the outpatient clinic of Reina Sofia University Hospital of Cordoba, for follow-up after 6 weeks of delivery. All mothers attending the outpatient clinic over 3 months accepted to participate in the study. Finally, we had a sample of 91 mothers. Study variables were age, educational level, gestational weeks, type of delivery, gender and weight of the new born, type of feeding for the baby over the first 6 weeks of his/her life, motives for abandoning breastfeeding, and motives for selecting the artificial formula. The information was collected through a previously validated interview questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 31.8 (SD 3.13) years old. About 67% of mothers selected exclusive breastfeeding and 4.39% selected the combination of breastfeeding with the artificial formula. More than 28% of mothers selected the artificial formula. The reasons for selecting the artificial formula were own decision (46.15%), medical recommendation (11.53%), lack of breast milk (3.84%). The remaining 23.1% of mothers who selected the artificial formula refused to answer this question. Conclusions: Our results show that only two-third of mothers adopted breastfeeding in the first 6 weeks after delivery. Health education and promotion programmes for breastfeeding are urgently needed.