Objective:

to determine the factors related to pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium that influence the abandonment of breastfeeding in the first 12 months of life.

Methodology:

Descriptive, observational and retrospective study with a sample of 131 women and their newborns attended at the Hospital de Verín (Ourense) between January 2014 and April 2018. Variables such as maternal age, origin (urban/rural), obstetric complications, toxic habits, type of childbirth, newborn feeding (breastfeeding, mixed or artificial) as well as weight, height and percentile at birth, at 3, 6 and 12 months of life were analized. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Conclusions:

breastfeeding prevalence figures after the first 180 days and up to the year show values that double (40.5%) those described in our geographic area (20%). Tobacco use, rural residence, the use of episiotomy as well as the sex of the newborn and the presence of complications have been linked to the reduction of breastfeeding rate.

The results obtained can be useful in designing strategies for proper breastfeeding support and counselling.

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