Short Mother‐Infant Separation during First Week of Life Influences the Duration of Breastfeeding

Abstract

Thirty term infants, who were separated 1-6 days (mean 3.3 days) from their mothers during the 1st wk of life because of minor illnesses, were compared with 116 term non-separated infants with regard to breastfeeding. At 3 mo. of age the frequency of entirely breastfed infants was 37% in the separated group vs. 72% in the non-separated group, P < 0.001. A few days of separation between mothers and infants during the 1st wk of life seems to decrease the duration of breastfeeding.