A prospective cohort study on lactation status and breastfeeding challenges in mothers giving birth to preterm infants

Table 5 Breastfeeding status at discharge, 2 weeks post-discharge, and 3 months of corrected age

	Discharge, n (%)	Two weeks post-discharge, n (%)	3 months of corrected age, n (%)	χ²	df	p*
Mothers, n	70	70	62	–	–	–
Infants, n	94	94	81	–	–	–
Breastfeeding, n (%)	74 (78.7)	78 (83.0)	57 (70.4)	1.57	1	0.21
Exclusive breastfeeding, n (%)	46 (48.9)	46 (48.9)	27 (33.3)	4.07	1	0.04^c
Formula feeding, n (%)	20 (21.3) ^a	16 (17.0)	24 (29.6)	1.57	1	0.21
Reasons for discontinuing breastfeeding
Infants’ factors	14 (14/20, 70.0)	11 (11/16, 68.8)	10 (10/24, 41.7)	3.71	1	0.05
Insufficient human milk	3 (3/20, 15.0)	5 (5/16, 31.3)	14 (14/24, 58.3)	8.80	1	0.003^d
Others	3 (3/20, 15.0) ^b	0	0	–	–	–

Note. Data are represented as number (%); * p-value is based on the results of chi-square test
^a Three infants were formula-fed during hospitalization because their mothers expressed very little milk and the families did not transport it to the hospital, and they started breastfeeding post-discharge
^b Three infants were breastfed during hospitalization, but their family did not transport milk to the hospital during the last three days of the infant hospital stay, but they all resumed breastfeeding post-discharge
^c R = 0.12, P (Approx. Sig.) = 0.04
^d R = -0.39, P (Approx. Sig.) = 0.002

ISSN: 1746-4358