Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access

Breastfeeding intention, initiation and duration among Hong Kong Chinese women: A prospective longitudinal study

World Congress on Midwifery and Womens Health

August 29-31, 2016 Atlanta, USA

Lau Ying

National University of Singapore, Singapore

Keynote: J Womens Health Care

Abstract :

Objectives of this study are to: estimate the breastfeeding intention, initiation and duration rate; identify the reasons to initiate; and wean breastfeeding and explore predictors of breastfeeding duration. A prospective longitudinal study was used at antenatal clinics of five regional hospitals from four clusters in Hong Kong. A population-based sample of 2098 women in the second trimester of pregnancy was recruited with a systematic sampling method. Three different sets of questionnaires were used. The rates of formula feeding and breastfeeding were 41.1% and 58.9%, while breastfeeding intention and initiation rates were 85.3% and 67.0%, respectively. The breastfeeding duration rates were 11.1%, 10.3%, 10.7% and 26.7%, for the â�?�?within < 1weekâ�?, â�?�?1-3 weeksâ�?, â�?�?> 3-6 weeksâ�? and â�?�?> 6 weeksâ�? groups. The common reasons for initiating breastfeeding were that breastfeeding is beneficial for both the baby (89.8%) and mother (39.7%). Reasons for weaning breastfeeding were insufficient breast milk (32.7%), tiredness and fatigue (39.7%) and return to work (29.6%). Partner, relatives and nurse midwives were important supportive resources during breastfeeding. Ordinal logistic regression analysis identified five predictive factors of breastfeeding duration. Participants who were working part-time or were housewives (p=0.037), had monthly family income of < HK$10,000 (p=0.034), more than one child (p=0.001), positive breastfeeding intention (p=0.001) and early breastfeeding within the first hour (p<0.0001) were more likely to have longer breastfeeding than their counterparts. The findings are important for a process-oriented breastfeeding training programme for nurse midwives.

Biography :

Lau Ying holds Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees from University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. She had clinical experience over 15 years in different hospitals. She is an Assistant Professor in Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. She has worked as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant for 10 years and has published over 80 international peer reviewed papers in journals, professional journals, books, and book chapters.

Email: ying_lau@nuhs.edu.sg