Effect of gestation on initiation and duration of breastfeeding

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gestation on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in Australian infants. Methods: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children recruited a national sample of children born between March 2003 and February 2004 (n = 3600 in this multivariate sample). Results: Breastfeeding initiation was lower for infants of 35-36 weeks' gestation (88.2%) than 37-39 weeks' gestation (92.0%) and ≥40 weeks' gestation (93.9%). At 6 months, 41.2% of infants 35-36 weeks' gestation were breastfeeding compared with 54.5% of 37-39 weeks' gestation infants and 60.5% of infants born ≥40 weeks. Compared with infants born ≥40 weeks, infants born at 35-..