Borstvoeding in een multi-etnische populatie

Objective

To examine changes in breastfeeding rates in 0 to 6 month old infants in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, over the period from 2009 to 2015, for the total population as well as for various ethnic groups.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Method

Breastfeeding rates were examined for the period from 2009 to 2015 in 165,420 registrations of 75,543 infants at the ages of 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 months for the entire Amsterdam population and for various ethnic groups. Differences were analysed using χ² tests.

Results

The weighted percentage of total breastfeeding (exclusive breastfeeding as well as a combination of breast and formula feeding) increased in the entire Amsterdam study population over the period from 2009 to 2015 (2 weeks: 87.8% to 89.1%; 3 months: 61.6% to 63.6%; 6 months: 39.5% to 42.2%). Increases were mainly the result of increases in weighted percentages for exclusive breastfeeding. The highest exclusive breastfeeding rates were observed among the Turkish ethnic group, the lowest among the Antillean/Aruban and Surinamese groups.

Conclusion

Percentages for total breastfeeding as well as exclusive breastfeeding in Amsterdam rose over the period from 2009 to 2015, but there is room for improvement. Breastfeeding promotion, whether or not in combination with formula feeding, may be of particular benefit to children of Surinam or Antillean/Aruban descent. Before ethnicity-specific interventions can be implemented, more insight is needed in the reasons for the low breastfeeding rates in specific groups.

Conflict of interest and financial support: potential conflicts of interest have been reported for this article. ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.