Enquête sur les arrêts précoces de l'allaitement à la maternité du Havre

While breastfeeding is becoming increasingly popular, a certain number of mothers chose to discontinue while still in the maternity ward. In order to better identify these women and assist those encountering difficulties, we conducted an observational survey among patients who delivered at the Flaubert maternity ward between April and September 2005: 64% of the women decided to breastfeed, 22 (5.7%) of them then discontinued breastfeeding after a few days. Questionnaires were filled out during interviews. Most of the women who interrupted breastfeeding were primiparous and made their decision to breastfeed late in pregnancy. Most of them discontinued rapidly after starting, generally within 48 h. Reasons put forward were pain and crevasses. A typical profile was defined for women who would benefit from reinforced individualized support. This study enabled us to identify several practical measures, which could be improved to favor institution of breastfeeding in our ward. A well-adapted assistance relationship is a key element to quality support for these women encountering difficulties.