Breastfeeding in Spain. A national inquiry outcome

Objective: To make an inquiry about the prevalence of breastfeeding (BF) in Spain, which purpose is to know its frequency, and its relationship with some variables that can influence it. Design: Transversal study, through the inquiries made by sanitary staff to the parents whose children were under one year old. Setting: Paediatric primary care centres of Spain that have collaborated voluntarily. Patients: Every child, under 1 year, that went to these centres to healthy examination, or vaccination for one predetermined fortnight. Measurements: Information about the duration of BF, and other maternal, prenatal, and new born?s variables that are supposedly connected with it, was taken. Measures about frequency, survival analysis, and comparison of proportions. Results: 12,165 polls were taken in 18 provinces. The average duration of the BF( sole right or supplemented) was of 3.2 months (IC 95%, 3.13-3.27 months). The 84.2% of the children began the BF, the 54.9% of the children went on after three months, the 24.8% continued after six months, and was only kept the 7.2 % of the children at the end of the first year. A less percentage of BF was observed in male children, preemie, whose weigh was under 2,500 grams at birth, coming from caesarean operation, and children whose mothers were younger and whit less academic level. Conclusions: The frequency of BF in Spain shows very improbable facts, specially in the keeping over 3 and 6 months. Promotion tasks should be concentrate on risk groups that the inquiry reveals.