| Summary: | 碩士 === 亞洲大學 === 健康管理研究所 === 95 === Both WHO and UNICEF stress the benefit of breast feeding for mothers and infants. Breast milk may help babies to grow healthily, to avoid allergy, and to be protected from diarrhea and respiratory infections. On the other hand, breast feeding also benefits mothers by helping their uteruses shrink after delivery, reducing the risk of breast cancer and regaining their shape quickly. AAP also recommends mothers to breastfeed their babies during the babies’ first year. Currently, there is no concluded data available regarding how Taiwanese women feed their babies. Thus, this study is designed to understand the ways commonly used by Taiwanese women for feeding their babies and to investigate the influence factors. The results will be used as the references for laying down the women and children health enhancement plan. The data used in the study stems from “the 9th Family and Fertility Survey in Taiwan Area” published by the Bureau of Health Promotion. The survey investigated 2,537 women aged between 20 and 49 who are married and have live birth history. The results show that 49.6% of the women having a recent live birth in the survey breastfeed their babies. According to the age group, those who aged 20-24 are the group having highest rate in breast feeding (70%). In terms of education, those who hold a college or post-graduate degree are more likely to breastfeed their babies (66%). The rate of non-breastfeeding is 50.4%. Among those breastfeeding, the breastfeeding period of <1month, >=1 month and up to 1 year are 83.3%, 16.7% and 0.4%, respectively. The major reasons for not breast feeding their babies include no breast milk, insufficient breast milk or babies not being fully stuffed with breast milk (38.5%), followed by mother’s physiological factors (16.8%) and timing factors (15.3%). Only 28% of new mothers totally breastfeed their babies while the others add formula milk or other kinds of food to their breast milk during the breast feeding period. In respect of socio-demographics, higher education and younger age of mothers are both positively associated with breastfeeding. Additionally, having a nature birth is also positively correlated with breast feeding. Moreover, by grouping the mothers giving breastfeeding as the reference group to further compare those who giving one month of breast feeding and the ones having more than one month of breast feeding period, it is found that breast-feeding periods are closely associated with women’s ages, education and ways of childbirth. Our nation’s breast feeding rate is still relatively low. In order to promote maternal and child health, measures to increase breastfeeding rate is needed.
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