Early suckling and prolonged breast-feeding
P. M. Taylor, J. A. Maloni and D. R. Brown
We determined the duration of breast-feeding for 362 full-term infants of
middle- and upper-class mothers. The median duration of breast-feeding was
five months for infants whose mothers elected to postpone physical contact
(n = 94), four months for infants whose mothers elected early physical
contact but later suckling (n = 82), and 8.5 months for infants whose
mothers elected to suckle during early contact (n = 186). The rate of
decline of breast-feeding was significantly slower for infants who were
suckled early than for those who were first suckled later. The association
between early suckling and prolonged breast-feeding was not affected by the
infant's gender or maternal parity.
