Samenvatting

In the Netherlands the government advises mothers to breastfeed for six months or longer; however, only 51% of Dutch mothers still breastfeed at six months and many women do not maintain the practice for as long as they intended. This study examines how an existing intervention, the Breastfeeding Support Program (BSP), influences breastfeeding duration. Breastfeeding duration in the BSP group (n=67) was compared to a control group (n=73) by means of a quasi-experiment. The BSP consisted of a series of 6 consults delivered by lactation consultant, starting during pregnancy and continuing up until 10 weeks after delivery. Questionnaires for the pre-test and post-test were administered through the internet. A logistic regression was used to compare the BSP group and the control group on the percentage of women still breastfeeding (exclusively) at 6 months, while controlling for differences at baseline. Additionally an analysis was performed to produce an extra conservative estimate of the effects of the BSP. Controlling for differences at baseline, both the odds to still be breastfeeding at six months and the odds to still be breastfeeding exclusively at six months are 3.8 times higher for women in the BSP group than in the control group. The extra conservative analysis produced similar results, with the effects of the BSP still being significant. The BSP appears to be highly effective at increasing the odds of women to still be breastfeeding at six months and the odds to still be breastfeeding exclusively at six months.