Association between Feeding Methods and Sucking Habits: A Cross-sectional Study of Infants in Their First 18 Months of Life

摘要

The aim of this study is to investigate infant feeding patterns and to analyze the influence of breast-feeding methods on the prevalence of non-nutritive sucking habits in a sample of Japanese infants. A random sample of 353 mothers of infants of 18 months of age was interviewed at a public health facility in “K” city. The prevalence and duration of infant feeding patterns categorized as breast-feeding, partial breast-feeding, and bottle-feeding, were determined. The outcome investigated was the prevalence of non-nutritive sucking habits (pacifier use and finger sucking). The data were analyzed using the Chisquare and Fisher's exact tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons to assess possible association between feeding method and non-nutritive sucking behavior. The infants were categorized into the following groups depending on feeding method: breast-feeding (27.2%), partial breast-feeding (32.0%), or bottle-feeding (40.8%). Among all infants, 13.9% used a pacifier, 18.4% sucked their fingers, and 0.3% had both habits at 18 months of age. Breast-feeding was negatively correlated with pacifier use and finger sucking. In contrast, bottle-feeding was strongly associated with pacifier use and finger sucking. These results suggest that breast-feeding provides benefits to infants, and that non-nutritive sucking habits may be avoided by promoting correct breast-feeding practices.