Breastfeeding trajectories for preterm infants over the first 6 months of life in England 2010-2020: surveys using large representative birth samples.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breastmilk is the optimal source of nutrition for infants, particularly preterm infants. Preterm infants face unique feeding challenges and these change with the birth gestation of the infant. Preterm infants' feeding outcomes may have been affected differently than term infants by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The objective of this study was to describe the feeding trajectories of preterm infants in the first 6 months of life compared with term infants and compare these across prepandemic and pandemic periods.

Methods

Data were extracted from the 2010 UK Infant Feeding Survey and the English National Maternity Surveys of 2018 and 2020. Original survey weights were used. Infants were divided by gestation into term (37+0 to 42+6 weeks' postmenstrual age), late preterm (

SUBMITTER: Levene I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11499770 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature