The influence of the type of birth and the mother's diet on the breastfeeding period

Abstract

Prenatal aspects may inf luence the duration of breastfeeding for newborns. When reduced, it affects their cranio and oro-facial development. The aim of this study was to correlate delivery types and the mother’s diet with breastfeeding duration. This was a descriptive study based on the records of the clinical history from 820 pairs of mothers and newborns attending the Baby Clinic from University Extension. The results were analyzed considering a significance level of 5%. The absence of pregnancy complications was a positive factor for the occurrence of vaginal delivery in 94% of the sample (p<0.001). It was found a high percentage of cesarean delivery (43%). The number of cesarean sections in women with cariogenic diet was higher than in women with a non-cariogenic diet. Women who had a non-cariogenic diet had a tendency to breastfeed their children for more than six months (p<0.01). Also, there was an association between vaginal delivery and breastfeeding for more than six months (p<0.001). In the analyzed sample, the mode of delivery and the mother’s diet inf luenced the duration of breastfeeding.