Early abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding in children under 1 year

• Main Authors: Luis Iván Sánchez Smith, Wendy Domínguez Morales, Marbelly Surama Smith Hernández, Rita Irma Gonzélez Sábado
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Granma 2021-01-01
• Series: Revista Científica Estudiantil 2 de Diciembre
• Subjects: lactancia materna; lactancia; trastornos de la lactancia; bancos de leche; fórmulas infantiles; leche humana; calostro
• Online Access: http://revdosdic.sld.cu/index.php/revdosdic/article/view/76

Introduction: the virtues of breast milk as the only food in children up to 6 months have been universally studied because the viral antibodies present in breast milk have action against: rotavirus, which is the most common causal agent of diarrhea, polyvirus, causal agents of polio, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) main causative agent of infant bronchiolitis. Objective: identify causes related to the abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding in children under one year of age in a polyclinic in Manzanillo. Methodology: An observational, descriptive and retrospective study was carried out, with 30 children under one year of age born in the first four months of 2019 at the Manzanillo Polyclinic No. 1. The main variables were: type of breastfeeding received up to 6 months, causes for abandoning exclusive breastfeeding, some maternal risk factors, and some illnesses they suffered. Descriptive statistics were used for data processing. Results: artificial lactation (33.3%) predominated as a form of feeding and exclusive breastfeeding (56.6%) in the first semester of life, the most frequent causes for early abandonment were hypogalactia (53.9) and distrust in its effectiveness (23.1%). Maternal age (38.5%) and occupation (84.6%) were the maternal factors that were most related to the early abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding and the presence of respiratory diseases (61.5%). Conclusions: Infants weaned early had a greater presence of diseases than those adequately breastfed, which ensures that breastfeeding, provides innumerable health benefits. The causes of abandonment were related to subjective aspects of the mother.