Assistant Professor Aya Tomita, PhD, RN, MW in Department of midwifery and women’s health
Dr. Aya Tomita, PhD, RN, Graduate of Department of Midwifery and Women’s Health
Breastfeeding is the optimal nutrition for infants, but while many studies have focused on maternal factors, a few have focused on neonatal factors about breastfeeding rates. We investigated whether the instinctive feeding behavior of newborns on the first day after birth is related to breastfeeding rates at one month of age.
The Japanese version of the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool (IBFAT) focuses on infant primitive reflexes. We used this tool for each parity to assess the relationship between newborn feeding behaviors and breastfeeding rates at one month of age.
For primiparas, the maternal factor, such as medical intervention during labor, rather than IBFAT scores, was associated with breastfeeding rates at one month of age. For multiparas, only the Apgar and IBFAT scores, which are neonatal but not maternal factors, were associated with breastfeeding rates at one month of age. Our study suggests that sustained effective sucking in newborns is important for successful breastfeeding at one month of age and parity should be considered in breastfeeding rates.
Access the full paper here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39876615/