Objective: To determine the influence of joined mother-child hospital lodging (JL) on the frequency of exclusive human lactation (EHL) from birth to four months of age.
Material and methods: Non-randomized cohort study performed at the lactation clinic of the "Luis Castelazo Ayala" Hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute from January 1993 to October 1994 which included 178 healthy mother-child pairs (MCP) with term pregnancy. The jointly lodged group (JL) consisted of 90 MCP in which mothers received assessment for lactation; 88 MCP were lodged separately and no assessment was provided. Results were statistically analyzed to determine frequency and variable associations.
Results: Feeding was recorded as either EHL, powdered milk or both. Groups with or without JL were stratified by form of birth, either labor or Cesarean section. With the Mantel-Haenszel X2 and logarithmic range, differences were significant with p < 0.05. During the study, global lactation was similar among groups. In the first month, EHL was higher in the JL group, 61 vs 42% independently of the form of birth (p < 0.05). The only variable which influenced EHL was JL.
Conclusions: Mother-child JL favours EHL during the first month post-partum.