Breastfeeding behaviours - Otago Polytechnic

Many babies are not exclusively breastfed for as long as recommended for their health.

Ehara te tokomaha o kā pēpi i te kai ū anake mō te roaka e taunaki ana mō ō rātou hauora.

Breastfeeding of babies is significant in the prevention of disease in their later life, particularly where breastfeeding is exclusive and lasts for at least six months. It is therefore important to understand the factors that influence the duration of breastfeeding, particularly amongst our Māori population where the duration of breastfeeding is shorter than for non-Māori.

Professor Sally Baddock and fellow researchers have built on their earlier research into safe infant sleep, examining the factors that positively and negatively affect the duration of breastfeeding. 197 mothers agreed to participate in the study, which began before they gave birth to their babies, with 88% still involved 12 months after the births. They were asked questions related to breastfeeding during pregnancy, and at one, three and six months postnatal.

This research identified that the key predictors for extending duration of breastfeeding were strong support from the woman's partner and her mother, intention to breastfeed for longer, and the woman being older than 25 years of age. Antenatal and postnatal education about breastfeeding that includes the women's mothers and partners may therefore be beneficial to duration of breastfeeding and hence to the babies. There were also negative predictors: pacifier/dummy use, daily cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and living in a more deprived area. Only 18.7% of the mothers surveyed were still exclusively breastfeeding at three months. The study confirmed that Māori women were more likely to breastfeed for a shorter duration than non-Māori women.

Ko te kai ū i kā pēpi tētahi mea whakahirahira hei whakakati i te mate i kā tau e whai ake nei, ina koa, i kā wā e kai ū anake, ā, neke atu i te ono marama te roa. Nō reira, he mea whakahirahira kia whakamārama i kā take e whakaaweawe ana i te roaka o te kai ū, ina koa, i te iwi Māori nā te mea, he iti iho te roaka o te kai ū i ētahi atu iwi.

Kua whakawhānui atu a Ahoraki Sally Baddock rātou ko ētahi atu kairakahau i ā rātou rakahau o mua e pā ana ki te moe haumaru o kā pēpi, e aro atu ana ki kā take whaihua me kā take kino e whakaawe ana i te roaka o te kai ū. 197 kā māmā i whakaae kia whakauru ki roto i te rakahau, i tīmata te rakahau i mua i te whānau mai o kā pēpi, ā, e 88 ōrau e whakauru ana i kā mārama 12 e whai ake i te whānautaka mai. I uiuia rātou e hākai ana ki te kai ū i waekanui i te hapūtaka, i te marama tuatahi, i te marama tuatoru me te marama tuaono.

I tautohu tēnei rakahau i kā waitohu matua mō te whakaroa i te wā kai ū; arā ko te kaha tautoko nā te hoa me te māmā o te wahine, he takune kia kai ū mō tētahi wā roa, ā, pēnā e 25 te pakeke o te wahine, neke atu rānei. Nō reira, he whaihua pea te whakauruka i kā hoa me kā māmā i te whakaakoraka i mua, i muri hoki i te whānautaka mai o te pēpi ki te roa o te wā kai ū, ki kā pēpi hoki. He ruarua hoki kā waitohu kino: ko te whakamahika i kā ngotengote whakamutu taki, ko te kai paipa ia rā, ia rā, ko te inu waipiro, ko te nohoaka i tētahi wāhi mūhore. 18.7 ōrau noa iho o kā māmā i uiuia e kai ū anake ana i te marama tuatoru. I whakatūturu te rakahau, e āro ake ana kā wāhine Māori ki te kati i te kai ū i mua i kā wāhine o iwi kē.

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February 2019

Image credit: myllissa, used under Creative Commons licence CC BY-SA 2.0