Infant hospitalization and breastfeeding post-caesarean section

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding has been shown to protect infants from illness, but there is minimal published research on the relationship between illness and breastfeeding following caesarean delivery. AIM: To examine the association between post-caesarean breastfeeding and infant hospitalization in the first year of life. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 468 term infants examined the relationship between infant hospitalizations and breastfeeding, using hospital admissions records and surveys from a post-caesarean breastfeeding intervention study in an Israeli hospital. RESULTS: A significantly lower proportion of Jewish infants breastfed for at least 4 months (40%; 42) was hospitalized in the first year, compared with non-breastfed infants (60%; 62) (P = 0.003). Among the Muslim infants who were breastfed, a significantly lower proportion were hospitalized (33%; 35) than those who were not hospitalized (67%; 71) and a greater proportion of non-breastfed infants were hospitalized (80%; 8) than those who were not hospitalized (20%; 2) (P = 0.005, Fisher's exact test). In the logistic regression models, the significant variables decreasing the likelihood of hospitalization for Jewish infants were being born to a non-immigrant mother, higher maternal education, and being breastfed, and for Muslim infants the only significant variable was being breastfed. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Breastfeeding in post-caesarean women has a protective effect on infant health, as demonstrated by a decrease in illness-related hospitalizations in the first year of life.