Objectives:

Breastfeeding is determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the best possible way of providing nutrients for the healthy growth and development of infants; it has also been found to play a vital part in the health of the mother. In light of these findings from WHO, the aims of the Breastfeeding Promotion Committee were to gather statistics on breastfeeding practices representative of the Bermudian population. These statistics will be used to develop guidelines on breastfeeding for the Department of Health and the general public.

Methods:

The study involved mothers (n=332) who gave birth between October 2002 and March 2003. After birth follow-up interviews were conducted at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months by Health Visitors, Medical Officers, Nutritionists and Summer Students. The current study defined breastfeeding as an infant being exclusively breastfed or receiving both breast milk and a breast-milk substitute with or without solid foods. The period of breastfeeding was defined as the infant’s age in months when they were completely weaned from a diet consisting of breast-milk and breast-milk substitutes with or without solids.

Results:

The study’s participants consisted of 45.0% Blacks, 41.0% Whites, and 14.0% who classified their race as Other (Asian, Indian etc.) The average age of the mothers was 30 years and ranged from 14-42-years-old. In general, 94.7% of mothers initiated breastfeeding with their newborn. At 2 months, 62.4% of all participants were continuing to breastfeed; 43.1% continued to do so at

4 months; and 27.4% persisted until 6 months. By 12 months, the breastfeeding prevalence rate fell to 6.1%. Only 61.2% of mothers initiated exclusive breastfeeding, a diet consisting of only breast-milk. At 2 months, 34.3% were continuing with exclusive breastfeeding and 11.9% persisted until 4 months. By 6 months, less than 1% of mothers were exclusively breastfeeding. The main reasons mothers ceased breastfeeding included concerns about milk supply (37%), work commitments (26%) and the perception that baby “weaned” him or herself (24%).

Conclusion:

Recent evidence

http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-health/publications/pubnutrition.htm from the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way to feed infants. Thereafter, infants should receive solid foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond. The Bermudian community has been found to be quite successful with 94.7% initiating breastfeeding with their newborns compared to other developed countries; these rates compare quite well with those of Canada (75%), the U.S.A. (70.9%) and the UK (69%). The Bermudian community is not successful, however, in maintaining these high rates of breastfeeding to 6-months which is the universal ideal age. Recommendations to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates include: establishing consensus breastfeeding guidelines and improving breastfeeding education and workplace policies.