FACTORS INFLUENCING ADHERENCE TO AND PREVALENCE OF BREASTFEEDING: RESULTS OF AN ONLINE SURVEY OF MOTHERS IN RUSSIA (PART 1)

The purpose of the research was to identify the reasons for the insufficient prevalence of breastfeeding (BF), to determine the ways to increase the prevalence of BF in Russia based on the data obtained during an online survey of mothers of children in the first 6 months of life, which was conducted in two stages in 2020-2022. 1981 mothers from different age groups living in Russian cities with population from 100 thousand to 1 million and more participated in the study. Results: the most significant negative impact on the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was the age of mothers of less than 20 years old (p=0.041 compared with mothers of 26 to 30 y/o), completed secondary education compared to higher education (p=0.012 and 0.021, respectively), mother's full-time employment (p=0.001 vs. mothers on maternity leave), marital status (for unwed mothers vs. married p<0.001), gestational age 38 to 39 weeks (p=0.032, 0.004 and 0.0038 compared with 39 to 40, 40 to 41, and 41 to 42 weeks of gestation, respectively), as well as recommendations at the stage of antenatal consultation “to take infant formula with you” to the maternity hospital, “just in case” (p<0.001 compared to no such recommendation). Conclusion: recommendations are given that can contribute to an increase in the prevalence of BF in Russia taking into account the data obtained during the survey.