Incidence and Duration of Breastfeedings in Active Duty Military Women
Abstract
This study examined the incidence and duration of breastfeeding in active duty women in the armed forces. A convenience sample chart review of 220 active duty women was chosen. These were women who delivered at a southwestern military medical center between January 1997 through June 1997. Women with multiple gestation, premature deliveries (less than 37 weeks) and maternal/infant complications were excluded from the study. After applying the exclusion criteria, and subtracting the inpatient records not available, and the women who chose bottle-feeding prior to delivery the sample size was 99 women. Data was collected from existing records. The mother's inpatient delivery record provided the demographic data, delivery type, complications and the type of feeding chosen. The type of feeding at discharge was verified by examining the newborn inpatient record. The infant's outpatient record was examined to collect the feeding type at 2, 8, 16, and 24 weeks. The logistic regression performed on the incidence data and demographics revealed marital status as the one variable of statistical significance with a p value of 0.04. The women who were married breastfeed more frequently than those women who were not married. In conclusion, the study provides the incidence of breastfeeding in active duty women and an evaluation of the types of women in the armed forces. Further research needs to be conducted to evaluate the duration of breastfeeding in active duty women to more fully understand if there are services or support that can be provided to help these employed women continue breastfeeding.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA345031
Entities
People
- Carrie L. Dunne
Organizations
- University of Texas at Austin