Effectiveness of the Baby Friendly Community Initiative in Italy: a non-randomised controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of the Baby Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) on exclusive breast feeding at 6 months. DESIGN: Controlled, non-randomised trial. SETTING: 18 Local Health Authorities in 9 regions of Italy. PARTICIPANTS: 5094 mother/infant dyads in 3 cohorts were followed up to 12 months after birth in 3 rounds of data collection: at baseline, after implementation of the intervention in the early intervention group and after implementation in the late intervention group. 689 (14%) dyads did not complete the study. INTERVENTION: Implementation of the 7 steps of the BFCI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The rate of exclusive breast feeding at 6 months was the primary outcome; breast feeding at discharge, 3 and 12 months was also measured. RESULTS: The crude rates of exclusive breast feeding at discharge, 3 and 6 months, and of any breast feeding at 6 and 12 months increased at each round of data collection after baseline in the early and late intervention groups. At the end of the project, 10% of infants were exclusively breast fed at 6 months and 38% were continuing to breast feed at 12 months. However, the comparison by adjusted rates and logistic regression failed to show statistically significant differences between groups and rounds of data collection in the intention-to-treat analysis, as well as when compliance with the intervention and training coverage was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: The study failed to demonstrate an effect of the BFCI on the rates of breast feeding. This may be due, among other factors, to the time needed to observe an effect on breast feeding following this complex intervention.

Counselling sessions increased duration of exclusive breastfeeding: a randomized clinical trial with adolescent mothers and grandmothers.

BACKGROUND: Considering that adolescent mothers may be more vulnerable to discontinuing exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) before 6 months and that their mothers may exert a negative influence on this practice, this study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the efficacy of breastfeeding counselling for adolescent mothers and their mothers in increasing EBF duration. METHODS: A clinical trial was performed in 323 adolescent mothers with newborns and their mothers randomized in four groups: (1) not living with mother, without intervention; (2) not living with mother, with intervention; (3) living with mother, without intervention, (4) living with mother, with intervention. The intervention consisted of five counselling sessions directed to mother and grandmother, in the maternity hospital and on follow-up. Information about feeding practices during the newborn's first six months of life was collected monthly by telephone. Intervention's efficacy was measured through Cox regression and comparison of exclusive breastfeeding medians and survival curves for the different groups. RESULTS: The intervention increased the duration of EBF by67 days for the group which included grandmothers (HR = 0.64; CI 95% = 0.46-0.90) and 46 days for the group which did not include grandmothers (HR = 0.52; CI 95% = 0.36-0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Counselling sessions in the first four months of children's lives proved to be effective in increasing EBF duration among adolescent mothers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00910377.

Prematuridad tardía / Late prematurity

Introducción: el avance científico y tecnológico en la salud perinatal ayudó a mejorar el índice de supervivencia de niños que nacen con tiempo de gestación de entre 34 y 36 semanas y 6 días,denominados pretérmino o prematuros. El estudio tuvo como objetivo conocer la producción científica sobre prematuridad tardía. Métodos: revisión integradora, debido a que permite incluir diferentes tipos de estudios, ofreciendo una perspectiva más amplia sobre el tema en cuestión. Las investigaciones se publicaron en el periodo de julio de 2002 a julio de 2012, en las bases de datos SciELO, CINAHAL y ScienceDirect. Los datos se analizaron y se categorizaron en tres semanas. El primer grupo fue de riesgos relacionados a la morbimortalidad en la prematuridad tardía; el segundo, conducta terapéutica y condición de salud en la prematuridad tardía; y el último consideró las repercusiones de la prematuridad en la infancia. Resultados: la mayoría de las investigaciones publicadas -aun así, escasas- se referían a losriesgos relacionados a la morbimortalidad en la prematuridad tardía, con un incremento en los últimos cuatro años. Predominaron las publicaciones estadounidenses. Conclusión: se percibe la necesidad de publicaciones sobre el cuidado de enfermería pensado para estos prematuros(AU)

Introduction: Scientific and technological advances in perinatal heath have helped improve survival among children born at gestational ages between 34 and 36 weeks and 6 days, known as preterm or premature children. The study was aimed at acquiring knowledge about the scientific production on late prematurity. Methods: An integrating review was conducted which included various types of studies, thus offering a broader outlook on the topic. The papers surveyed were published from July 2002 to July 2012 in databases SciELO, CINAHAL and ScienceDirect. Data were analyzed and classified into three categories: risks related to morbidity and mortality in late prematurity; therapeutic management and health status in late prematurity; and effects of prematurity upon childhood. Results: Most of the studies published -scarce as they were- referred to risks related to morbidity and mortality in late prematurity, with an increase in the last four years. There was a predominance of US publications. Conclusion: A need is perceived of studies about the nursing care of preterm babies(AU)

A controlled study on baby-friendly communities in Italy: methods and baseline data.

AIM: This study reports the research methods and baseline data of a project aimed at assessing the effect of an intervention based on the 7 Steps of the Baby Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) on the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months in Italy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this controlled, nonrandomized study, nine Local Health Authorities were assigned to an early and nine to a late intervention group. Data on breastfeeding in infants followed up from birth to 12 months were gathered at baseline and in two subsequent rounds, after the 7 Steps were implemented in the early and late intervention groups, respectively. Step-down logistic regression analysis, corrected for the cluster effect, was used to compare breastfeeding rates between groups. RESULTS: At baseline, there were no significant differences in breastfeeding rates at birth (n=1,781) and at 3 (n=1,854), 6 (n=1,601), and 12 (n=1,510; loss to follow-up, 15.2%) months between groups. At birth, 96% of mothers initiated breastfeeding, 72% exclusively (recall from birth). At 3 months, 77% of infants were breastfed, 54% exclusively with 24-hour and 46% with 7-day recall. At 6 months, the rate of any breastfeeding was 62%, with 10% and 7% exclusive breastfeeding with 24-hour and 7-day recall, respectively. At 12 months, 31% of the children continued to breastfeed. CONCLUSIONS: The project is ongoing and will allow estimation of the effect of the BFCI.