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Breast-feeding in Iceland

Predictive factors and effects of interrentive measures

Community Health Centre of Akureyri, Reykjavik, Iceland; Department of Family Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

Johann A. Sigurdsson

Department of Family Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

The aim of this study was to analyse how long babies born in Akureyri district in 1990 were breast-fed, compared with babies born in 1985. Possible predictive factors for the length of breast-feeding were studied by univariate and multivariate analyses. From 1985 to 1990, the proportion of infants exclusively breast-fed at the age of 3 months increased from 57% to 70% (p<0.01) and for those breastfed exclusively or partially, from 67% to 83% (p<0.01). By 1990, 64% of all babies were breast-fed at the age of 6 months, compared with 43% in 1985 (p<0.01). The factor with the strongest correlation with a long breast-feeding period was a well educated father. Other factors correlated with the duration of breast-feeding were the mother's age, number of previous children, attending a maternity course, and being a non-smoker. It is concluded that real beneficial changes regarding the duration of breast-feeding in Iceland have been observed during the last decade, but the objectives of the preventive measures recommended by health authorities have not yet been reached.

Key Words: breast-feeding • epidemiology • prevention

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 24, No. 1, 62-66 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/140349489602400110


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