Journal
REVUE D EPIDEMIOLOGIE ET DE SANTE PUBLIQUE
Volume 60, Issue 4, Pages 305-320Publisher
MASSON EDITEUR
DOI: 10.1016/j.respe.2012.02.008
Keywords
Healthcare disparities; Breastfeeding; Review
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Background. - Given the benefits of breastfeeding (BF), healthcare institutions recommend that a child should be breastfed for the first 6 months of its life. This study provides a review of BF as a function of socioeconomic criteria in various industrialized countries. Methods. - A review was carried out between 1st January 1998 and 1st March 2009, using Medline and the Public Health Database. The papers were selected independently by two persons, using a methodological grid designed to evaluate the quality of the studies. From 1126 initially selected papers, 26 from 16 different countries were retained for further analysis. Results. - The prevalence of exclusive BF initiation was the highest in Norway, Denmark, and Japan with, respectively, 99, 98.7, and 98.3%. This prevalence was the lowest in the United Kingdom, the United States, and France with, respectively, 70, 69.5, and 62.6%. Women who breastfeed less were most commonly found to be young, single, from a low socioeconomic group, or with a low level of education. Women from immigrant population groups breastfed more than the native-born population during their pregnancy. Conclusion. - Knowledge of the sociodemographic distribution of women who breastfeed is essential for the definition of preventive policies, which are needed to reduce health-related social inequalities. An in-depth analysis of existing primary healthcare programs would allow new strategies to be defined. (c) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
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