Duration of Breastfeeding, Daycare, and Physician Visits among Infants 6 Months and Younger

PURPOSE: To describe the association between duration of breastfeeding and an illness requiring a visit to a health care provider within the past 30 days (IRHP) among infants ≤ 6 months. METHODS: Participants were breastfeeding women who delivered at a birthing center in suburban Detroit, Michigan a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of epidemiology 2003-07, Vol.13 (6), p.431-435
Main Authors: Pettigrew, Melinda M, Khodaee, Morteza, Gillespie, Brenda, Schwartz, Kendra, Bobo, Janet K, Foxman, Betsy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Breast feeding
Breast Feeding - statistics & numerical data
Child care
Child Day Care Centers - utilization
Cohort Studies
Communicable Diseases - epidemiology
Communicable Diseases - therapy
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant Care - utilization
Infant, Newborn
Interviews as Topic
Linear Models
Michigan - epidemiology
Nebraska - epidemiology
Office Visits - utilization
Otitis - epidemiology
Otitis - prevention & control
Parity
Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Infections - prevention & control
Risk Assessment
Smoking
Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:PURPOSE: To describe the association between duration of breastfeeding and an illness requiring a visit to a health care provider within the past 30 days (IRHP) among infants ≤ 6 months. METHODS: Participants were breastfeeding women who delivered at a birthing center in suburban Detroit, Michigan and women employed by a company in Omaha, Nebraska. Subjects were interviewed by telephone at 3,6,9, and 12 weeks postpartum and by mailed questionnaire at 6 months postpartum. RESULTS: Of the 674 breastfeeding women, 233 (34.5%) reported an IRHP. An IRHP was more likely among infants attending daycare (RR = 1.60; 95% CI 1.30, 1.96). There was an interaction between duration of breastfeeding, the number of children in the household, and IRHP ( p < 0.0001). For firstborn children, each additional week of breastfeeding decreased the likelihood of an IRHP by 4%. An increased duration of breastfeeding was not significantly protective against an IRHP for infants living with additional children in the household. CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding offers protection against an IRHP among firstborn children. Having additional children in the household or attending daycare outside of the home may diminish these benefits.
ISSN:1047-2797
1873-2585
DOI:10.1016/S1047-2797(02)00463-5