Factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding rates until 6 months postpartum: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

This research aimed to examine the efficacy of the early initiation of breastfeeding within 1 h of birth, early skin-to-skin contact, and rooming-in for the continuation of exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months postpartum. The research used data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS), a nationwide government-funded birth cohort study. A total of 80,491 mothers in Japan between January 2011 and March 2014 who succeeded or failed to exclusively breastfeed to 6 months were surveyed in JECS. Multiple logistic regression model was used to analyse the data. The percentage of mothers who succeeded in exclusively breastfeeding to 6 months is 37.4%. Adjusted odds ratios were analysed for all 35 variables. Early initiation of breastfeeding (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.455 [1.401–1.512]), early skin-to-skin contact (AOR: 1.233 [1.165–1.304]), and rooming-in (AOR: 1.567 [1.454–1.690]) affected continuation of exclusive breastfeeding. Regional social capital (AOR: 1.133 [1.061–1.210]) was also discovered to support the continuation of breastfeeding. In contrast, the most influential inhibiting factors were starting childcare (AOR: 0.126 [0.113–0.141]), smoking during pregnancy (AOR: 0.557 [0.496–0.627]), and obese body type during early pregnancy (AOR: 0.667 [0.627–0.710]).