Breastfeeding Duration After NICU Discharge: A National Survey of Mothers of Preterm Infants

Breastfeeding Duration After NICU Discharge: A National Survey of Mothers of Preterm Infants | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Breastfeeding Duration After NICU Discharge: A National Survey of Mothers of Preterm Infants Maria Karolina Schierholt, Victoria Simioni, Fernanda Santos, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6148156/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Breastfeeding is vital for the health and development of preterm infants; however, maintaining breastfeeding after NICU discharge continues to be challenging. Research aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors influencing breastfeeding continuation after NICU discharge among mothers of preterm infants in Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study from January 2019 to January 2021 using an online survey distributed by Prematuridade.com, a Brazilian nonprofit organization. Data were collected from 1,000 mothers of preterm infants across all Brazilian federative units. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Poisson regression, and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Results: Among respondents, 76.7% continued breastfeeding after hospital discharge. Breastfeeding at NICU discharge (Relative Risk [ RR ] = 2.41; 95% CI: 2.07–2.81; p < .001), breastfeeding during NICU stay ( RR = 0.87, 95% CI: [0.79,0.95], p= .003) and shorter NICU stays ( RR = .997; 95% CI: [0.995,0.999]; p = .002) were significantly associated with breastfeeding post-discharge. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that breastfeeding at NICU discharge was associated with longer breastfeeding duration (log-rank test, p = .03), but not with achieving the six-month threshold ( OR = 1.37; 95% CI: [0.85,2.32], p = .20). Conclusion: Breastfeeding at NICU discharge and shorter NICU stays are predictors of sustained breastfeeding post-discharge. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions during the NICU stay and extended lactation support after discharge to address barriers and promote equitable breastfeeding outcomes for preterm infants in Brazil. Pediatrics Breastfeeding difficulties breastfeeding ptreterm infants breastfeeding duration prematurity Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6148156","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":423529920,"identity":"604c3561-bcc2-4d03-9cc8-749cbff9b474","order_by":0,"name":"Maria Karolina Schierholt","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"Karolina","lastName":"Schierholt","suffix":""},{"id":423529921,"identity":"e851ee0d-b031-49ba-89f9-ce47eda85ff9","order_by":1,"name":"Victoria Simioni","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal 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Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Breastfeeding difficulties, breastfeeding ptreterm infants, breastfeeding duration, prematurity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6148156/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6148156/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBreastfeeding is vital for the health and development of preterm infants; however, maintaining breastfeeding after NICU discharge continues to be challenging.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResearch aim:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors influencing breastfeeding continuation after NICU discharge among mothers of preterm infants in Brazil.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCross-sectional study from January 2019 to January 2021 using an online survey distributed by Prematuridade.com, a Brazilian nonprofit organization. Data were collected from 1,000 mothers of preterm infants across all Brazilian federative units. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Poisson regression, and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong respondents, 76.7% continued breastfeeding after hospital discharge. Breastfeeding at NICU discharge (Relative Risk [\u003cem\u003eRR\u003c/em\u003e] = 2.41; 95% CI: 2.07–2.81; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e \u0026lt; .001), breastfeeding during NICU stay (\u003cem\u003eRR\u003c/em\u003e = 0.87, 95% CI: [0.79,0.95], \u003cem\u003ep= \u003c/em\u003e.003) and shorter NICU stays (\u003cem\u003eRR\u003c/em\u003e = .997; 95% CI: [0.995,0.999]; \u003cem\u003ep \u003c/em\u003e= .002) were significantly associated with breastfeeding post-discharge. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that breastfeeding at NICU discharge was associated with longer breastfeeding duration (log-rank test, \u003cem\u003ep \u003c/em\u003e= .03), but not with achieving the six-month threshold (\u003cem\u003eOR\u003c/em\u003e = 1.37; 95% CI: [0.85,2.32], \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e = .20).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBreastfeeding at NICU discharge and shorter NICU stays are predictors of sustained breastfeeding post-discharge. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions during the NICU stay and extended lactation support after discharge to address barriers and promote equitable breastfeeding outcomes for preterm infants in Brazil.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Breastfeeding Duration After NICU Discharge: A National Survey of Mothers of Preterm Infants","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-05 05:31:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6148156/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"796d6a92-d06f-4919-8a84-8466b1cd1592","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":45134310,"name":"Pediatrics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-03-05T05:31:56+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-05 05:31:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6148156","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6148156","identity":"rs-6148156","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}