Revista de embarazo y salud infantil

Abstracto

Formula Feeding After Emergency Cesarean Section – A Descriptive Retrospective Cohort Study

Sofia Zwedberg, Maja von Hofsten and Oskar Jurell

Background: Breastfeeding rates in Sweden have decreased since the mid-nineties while the numbers of caesarean sections have increased. Infants delivered by caesarean section are breastfed to a lesser extent than infants born vaginally. The aim was to investigate the prevalence of formula supplement given to healthy newborns to first-time mothers who have undergone an emergency or immediate caesarean section (CS). Furthermore, we examined to what extent the infants received skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after delivery. Method: A descriptive retrospective study using data from a cohort of first-time mothers who received an emergency or immediate CS in 2009 at one of the largest hospitals in Stockholm, Sweden. Result: Seventy-eight percent of infants delivered by emergency or immediate CS received formula during their first three days of life. These infants had an Apgar score of >7 at 5 min and had no risk factors for receiving formula. Twenty-six percent had a medical indication for the supplementation given. The main documented reason unless medical indication was upon the request of the parents, twenty-four percent during the first three days. Conclusion: Even when we examine healthy full-term infants after an emergency caesarean section at primipara mothers and tried to exclude all risk factors for giving supplements we found that a quarter were in need of supplementation due to medical reasons. Another quarter got infant formula at the request of the parents. In half of the medical records documentation regarding if the infant had remained SSC with one of their parents after delivery was missing. SSC is a method and nursing intervention that may be significant regarding breastfeeding outcomes and supplementation feeding. To examine and evaluate nursing interventions, SSC and formula supplementation, documentation in medical records is essential.